Jump! (For Your Love)

I JUMPED TODAY!!!! Sorry about shouting, but I haven't been able to jump since late April when my old Klingbeils still had some support. Fast forward to today and I JUMPED!!!!! Was it pretty? Nope. But the jumps were high and they were landed. I hit some of the worse positions in the air and managed to still land on one foot. Weeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! I also did some of the ugliest spins known to mankind and they traveled to Istanbul and back. BUT, I was able to spin. I can only say to myself, "Welcome back!!" The lyrics to the old Pointer Sisters song are pretty inappropriate (don't you just love the music of the '80s? After all, "Every Step You Take" is a not a love song but about stalking someone.) and as a result, I won't be quoting that song here. But I will leave you with this... "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929 - 1968

ISI vs USFSA

Can you believe this debate is STILL going on?? Recently, I was the unwilling audience to a parent who was "educating" me on the nuances of ISI vs USFSA. She was insisting that ANYONE could compete with almost no skating skills in under the ISI track. Her son, she mentioned, had started in ISI, but quickly out-grew the program at the age of 6 because he could already do a waltz jump. According to my educator, a waltz jump was the HIGHEST level in ISI. Apparently we participated in two totally different program, since ISI makes you perform jumps in the opposite direction and the USFSA does not. I made the foolish attempt to tell my educator all about the ISI, but my attempts seem futile. FS5, she insisted was the highest level and there was that waltz jump again. No, I told her, FS5 has a axel in it. You don't have to do it, I was told. Yes you do, I insisted because I WAS a FS5 skater and have the scars from axel practice to prove it. While I understand that ISI isn't usually for the "competitive" skater, as an adult, I can say, it's the way many of us began. If you recall some of my earlier posts, it was in FS5 where I had my very cheated axel (all the way around, but on two feet) and the beginnings of a double salchow and double toe loop. Not bad for someone who was told that ISI is only for Basic Skills skaters. And for the record, I think Basic Skills is pretty challenging. If I don't have to do a hockey stop, I won't. That's a move on Basic Skills. Perhaps my educator was confused between Basic Skills and ISI, I thought. Nope, she knew the difference, even quoting the moves on Basic Skills 8 (which includes a waltz jump). No, ISI was for people just shy of wearing rental skates and a helmet. My first competitions were ISI and while I struggled; I did enjoy it. I only stopped competing ISI because they stopped including adults. Initially, ISI levels were allowed in USFSA levels, but I'm not sure that's still the case. Regardless, many Silver skaters cannot do an axel, but there it is on FS5, which I think is the equivalent. Unfortunately for me and anyone else within ear-shot, this unfair comparison is really snobbery (is that a word?). Her son was a really good skater who quit and perhaps she is still having trouble accepting that fact. That's no reason to put down ISI, adult skaters (who, she says will NEVER achieve much of anything... You might want to tell that to the adult skater who is working on her Senior MIF) or anyone over five feet not working on doubles. As for me, I am just a recreational skater who is much more useful monitoring and announcing at competitions. Wow. The only skaters who are important are the young ones because they have the opportunity to go to Nationals or Sectionals. The rest of us are really just wasting ice time. But we pay, so we have our merit. For the record, I knew a young skater who competed in both tracks. She was on FS8 and Novice FS when I lost track of her. And for some reason, it didn't bother her, her coaches and the judges in any way, shape or form. As for my own skating; it's getting better. At least the pain is gone, but I'm working on my confidence. It seems to have packed up and moved away... Skate on, my friends.

A Woman Has Dreams....

Good news! I took all of the padding, cushioning, etc. out of my skates and went "old school". Old school, for those of you who are unaware, was when you took thicker socks, wet them with hot water, put your skates on and either skated or walked around until the socks dried. Yes, it feels weird, but it actually works. Add to the mix, a new lacing pattern taught to me by a post on Skating Forums and (drum roll please), I can wear my skates!!!! Thank you, thank you very much. I added to my skate an inexpensive rubber arch support that seems to hit the spot. Today, I skated for 50 minutes and my arches only started to hurt at the final 5 minutes. I AM impressed!!! I am starting from scratch again, so my lessons consist of crossovers mostly. The skates aren't flexible at all and dig into my leg, which causes me to pitch forward on crossovers, but if I don't think about them, I can do them fine. It's a little frustrating to have to start all over again, but I am hopeful. And I refuse to quit. Today I discovered that there is a rink 10 minutes from my office and they have very quiet public sessions during the day. Looks like I found a place to go for lunch! At least I won't be disturbed while trying to watch videos of funny cats as I am now. I'd like to see my co-workers follow me to the rink! HA! Here's an odd bit of information. My new Jackson skates with the blades on them still weigh less than ONE of my old Klingbeils without the blades on them. That being the case, why do I feel as though my new skates are two blocks of cement strapped to my feet? Prior to this new result with my skates, I felt that I would just have to sell them and try again. You have no idea how happy I am. The lyrics below express how I felt BEFORE. "A woman* has dreams Of walking with giants To carve her* niche In the edifice of time. Before the mortar of her zeal Has a chance to congeal The cup is dashed from her lips The flame is snuffed aborning She's brought to rack and ruin in her prime"*** * The song was written for a man to sing, which I am not. ** A Man Has Dreams from Mary Poppins Music and lyrics by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman.

Winds of Change

Working twelve hours a day then driving 90 minutes home began to take a toll on my health, so I had to cut back. Cutting back meant I had the opportunity to skate. That also created a bit of a problem because the skates are still killing my arches. Oh feet, why must you be so wide AND flat???!!!! Thanks to my GPS (not the one in the phone, an actual, stand-alone GPS), I located the rink in Bethpage. It was nice to be back on the ice, however, I had forgotten what a zoo that session is. You want to do an illusion in the middle of the track? Go ahead. You need to do a back spiral and it's not your program and you don't look behind you before hand? Feel free. I think what surprised me the most was the 2 year old on the ice, in the corner, playing with the snow. I did get some skating in, but not much. I warm up my feet, doing ballet exercises for my feet and sometimes it still doesn't help. That was the case on Friday. I was only able to last twenty minutes before I had to get off and rest my feet. I hate to say it, but if I sit down, it's not so bad. That leads me to believe that (yes, that broken record again... If you don't know the origin of the saying "broken record", please ask your parents; unless your parents are in their early 20s) my weight is causing the issue with my feet. It probably doesn't help that I've gained weight since beginning this job. We seem to have more than the usual amount of celebrations and luncheons. Last month alone, there was a potluck luncheon for Thanksgiving; a pie give-away for Thanksgiving; a celebrate the November birthdays dessert surprise and three luncheon meetings. That's a lot of food. Add to that a lack of exercise and you have my current situation. "Winds of change are set to blow and sweep this whole land through..."** Sunday's session was better, even though I only skated the second session and not the first. Yes, I'm back as ice monitor; I have resigned myself to the job, knowing that I do get free ice in the process. My skates are still stiff as a board and an hour of working my feet prevented pain for almost 50 minutes. So, what have we learned here? I have to really warm up my feet for no less than 30 minutes. I have to lose weight. I have to skate more. And I have to say "no" to those desserts!!! (The birthday cake was really good, with roses made out of icing and that buttercream filling...) ** "Morning Glow" from the musical Pippin. Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Off Ice

So, due to working 12 hour days and driving about 36 miles round trip, I haven't really had the opportunity to skate much. Add to that the fact that my car sounded like a 90 year old man with COPD that I dragged behind me, well, you see what I mean. I also have brand new boots and pain in the bottom of my feet that travels up my legs and makes them go numb. I don't know what the heck that is, but I can only stand the pain for 20 minutes before I have to stop. It's getting better; originally it was 10 minutes. And if I sit down, it gets better. I wonder if my arches are falling. I had hoped that by now I would be deep back into skating, but it's the pain that's keeping me away. I'll be wearing my skates around my house this weekend after performing ballet foot exercises, so hopefully that will help. Until that time... "Nothing to see here. Nothing to see here."

She's Back....

Well, kind of... So my lovelies, did you miss me? Whether you did or not, I have returned from the depths of unemployment. What can I say about being out of work for 14 month? It stinks. As a result of my unemployment, I sunk into a pretty deep depression, put on 5 pounds instead of losing 45 and ended up cleaning toilets. I don't recommend any of them. The good news is I have a new job and it pays much better than my old one. I also have 100 times as much work and usually end up working a 11 hour day. That's the bad news. The good news is, I have a brand new pair of skates!!! If I can ever figure out how to export photos from my phone to my computer (insert cry for help here)I would post a picture. The boots are Jackson 4200 and they are beautiful. Uncomfortable at the moment, but beautiful. The blades are my old Pattern 99s, recently sharpened, really sharpened. I skated on dull kitchen knives for years; I need to get used to these babies. So, I have a brand new attitude to go with my new skates. I just need to find sessions I can get to. I also need to leave work at 5:00 when I get in daily at 8:00. And to those of you on the Northern State/Grand Central Parkway, if you see a navy blue Ford Focus with a few dents in it, please either speed up or slow down or just move; I'm trying to get to the rink. It won't be on Sunday morning at City Ice. Wow! That place was crowded! I considered that the most expensive public session, disguising itself as a freestyle, I have ever experienced. Madhouse is the only word I can use. And I couldn't really stop yet, so... Another session later and a lesson and I can finally can stop!!! I was able to do some of my MIF before having to get off the ice, remove my skates and massage my feet back to life. Ouch!! My feet are not happy, but I am. New skates are the best!!! As I continue to feel my feet, I will be able to do more and therefore post more interesting things. For now, allow me to say, I AM BACK!!!! (Wanted to quote a song from the new musical "Hamilton", which I recently saw, but I can't find the lyrics written anywhere...yet.

Is Anybody There???

If you are still interested (and I'm hoping that you are), I am happy to report that I have finally secured a job. It only took 14 months and 583 applications/resumes. Yes, you read that number correctly. I could go on about the odyssey that is being unemployed for over a year, but that's the subject of an article that I'm working on for someone else. The important part is that very soon, I will be back on the ice. I'll still be in Long Island (apparently, Manhattan didn't want me), but I won't be far from several rinks!!! (Insert Happy Dance here!!!) And I will do my best to figure out how to post photos and GIFs. Wish me luck on that front. See you soon!!!!!