Jingle Bells or Santa Smells: 19-25 December 2005

[Mrs Redboots]

Santa Smells: Large puddles all over the ice this morning where they were obviously trying to even it out a bit, and for some reason they didn't freeze over until well into the session.

Couples lesson went fairly well, but why do I sometimes get the feeling that the coach focusses on my errors more than on Husband's? Sometimes it really is him-not-me, but to hear my coach at times, you'd think I had a perfect partner (well, he is very nice, of course, but I do wish he'd connect his shoulders with his feet, it would make my life easier!).

Jingle Bells: After doing our exercises, we had some fun with highlights we may or may not put into our free dance when we get that far. Our spin was going fine, until he asked us to do something with our arms, which then made it didn't happen at all! We had a bit of fun with the drop-downs and a teapot sequence, though.

Meanwhile my Mohawks are coming back slowly, coach having b*gg*r*d them up completely for me last week.... but I can do them in the Swing Dance, which is what matters. Still slightly rushed, but even I can feel the technique is better!

Rudolf ran away: Then spent too long in the pros' room talking to coach2 about the NJS & stuff (showed her the Bronze men's protocols from Oberstdorf last year), and then when I did go back out to skate I got cold.

[TaBalie]

Santa Smells:

Broke my right wrist and arm last week skating. I am so dissapointed since I am living right next to a rink for only three more weeks, and then it will be more inconvienient. I was hoping to squeeze in as much skating as possible before I moved!

Jingle Bells:

It is so pretty and picturesque here in the mountains of Idaho! Also, I got all my holiday shopping done really early :P

[AnnM]

Jingle Bells: I did some great spirals today, both the basic pattern on the Silver test, as well as the alternating edge spirals. Wheee! I had the whole ice to myself, so there was lots of room to really get speed and stretch going. Even though my muscles were fairly 'cold', my free leg was slightly above hip level on bith legs. Now I'm inspired to really work at getting a higher extension. I also got a pair of nifty new gloves from my coach as a holiday gift.

Santa Smells: I tweaked my knee while either working out at the gym yesterday or while getting tangled up in my puppy's leash, so all I could do was spirals today! My coach thought it might be an MCL problem, so she didn't want me to do anything that would require twisting or turning.

[FrankR]

Santa Smells:

Broke my right wrist and arm last week skating. I am so dissapointed since I am living right next to a rink for only three more weeks, and then it will be more inconvienient. I was hoping to squeeze in as much skating as possible before I moved!


OWW!! 8O I'm so sorry to hear that. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Frank

[sk8pics]

So sorry to hear about your broken arm, TaBalie! Heal fast!

Jingle bells Had a great practice today on nice ice and with just about 4 or 5 people on the ice. Got my salchow back (it had been whippy and spinny and just all-around scary!). Did part of my new interpretive program with the music and covered maybe 2/3 of the ground my coach wants me to cover, so that was pretty good! Then had a good lesson with my spin coach where we also worked on some long-held back edges. Showed him how my waltz jump has improved because of the back edges work he'd been doing with me. It was all good.


So, Santa didn't smell at all today!

Happy skating!
Pat

[Joan]

Jingle Bells:

Fewer people on the freestyle sessions for the next week or so.

Santa smells:

Backspins "had" been going well until I had to do them in my lesson yesterday, when they abandoned me. :roll:

[phoenix]

Jingle Bells: Kilian is s-l-o-w-l-y getting better, which even coach admits. I am determined to make friends with this dance, because I have seen a few shining moments when it was actually fun. So all I have to do is get rid of this "OMG, I'm going to die!" feeling the rest of the time...... :roll:

Santa Smells: Not sure how much skating I'll get to do over Christmas, & I need to. I missed a week over Thanksgiving & I lost a lot of ground that was painful to gain back.

ETA: Joan, I know exactly what you mean about elements abandoning you during your lesson! My coach is probably VERY tired of hearing, "but it was really good yesterday!!" :frus:

[skatingatty]

Santa Smells: my right bunion looks bigger than ever. Turns out I won't be able to compete at the New Yr. Invitational b/c my father is coming to visit that week.

Jingle Bells: My boss is on vacation, so I got to go out in the middle of the day to get my blades sharpened and skate on a nice public session at Hillsborough! Practiced my new program and am finally remembering the step sequence that Diana Goolsbey choreographed for me last week. Didn't attempt any axels b/c I was wearing jeans (Josef Sabovcik I'm not). Merry Christmas, everyone!

[NickiT]

Santa Smells:
Broke my right wrist and arm last week skating. I am so dissapointed since I am living right next to a rink for only three more weeks, and then it will be more inconvienient. I was hoping to squeeze in as much skating as possible before I moved!


Oh dear. I'm really sorry to hear this. I know just how it feels since I broke mine in September. I hope you heal quickly.

Jingle Bells
I had my last lesson of the year today and I was brave enough to skate for the first time without my wrist splint on! I landed some decent lutz and lutz-loop jumps and skated a clean programme.

Santa Smells
I was somewhat tired as we only finished our run of shows on Sunday night and what with my daughter's birthday yesterday, I've yet to have a bit of a chill-out to get over the hectic week. Of course a tired body isn't conducive to decent skating and the one element that really didn't want to happen as well as it has of late was my camel spin. I did manage a few semi-decent ones, but I messed up so many.

Probably no skating for me now till the new year though I may make it to the rink on Friday, depending on how I feel!

Nicki

[Skate@Delaware]

TaBalie: I'm sorry to hear about your arm! Get better soon!

Santa smells: because I can't skate today, as son is sick with bronchitis. I got called by the nurse and had to leave work to pick him up from school. He had been better but guess he just wasn't rested or well enough to deal with school.

Jingle Bells: So, we watched a Veggie Tales movie today (a Christmas one) and he heard a song they were singing, he says, "Mom, why don't you skate to this?" 8O Stuff like that never crosses his lips! I suggested we all skate to it as a family and he said he'd think about it.

And I got my dining room table cleared off (finally), dishes washed, and am attempting to de-clutter next to my side of the bed (the piles of books and magazines have really gotten out of hand :oops: ).

And my daughter's boyfriend showed up in the nick of time to alleviate the boredom and play video games with the boy!

So, I'll skate tomorrow for my coach and see how bad I do! :giveup:

[*JennaD*]

Jingle bells: I finally understand the European pattern!! And I can keep up to the music in 14-step!! And I also am getting much more speed in my program...I actually have started to finish early!

Santa smells: None yet...but I am skating today...so some might come up!

[slusher]

Wrapping :P up a couple of days:

Jingle Bells:
My footwork sequence finally covers the entire length of the ice, I'm pushing harder and getting faster. When I started it, doing all the steps only took me to centre ice, so that's a big achievement.
Smelly:
Rocker in the middle of it is non-existent.

Jingle Bells:
Coach didn't make me do flips, I've got a huge mental block (yes I saw that other thread).
Smelly:
Did loops until my foot grew another bunion.

Jingle Bells:
Skated at the big club with the competitive skaters. This I'm used to, usually dance pairs and singles. Last week there were a whole bunch of pair skaters. I tell you, that was the most scariest thing. The speed, the lifts (the fights) the throws. I hugged the boards most of the time and watched. They DOMINATED the ice.
Smelly:
Big waste of $15 and lesson time to hide in the corner.

Jingle Bells:
Christmas is coming and my body needs a rest. I've got a few overuse injuries, although nothing broken (sorry TaBalie)
Santa Smells:
Ankle, foot, knee, other knee, hip, wrist, other wrist.

Eating way too much candy. Anyone for New Years Resolutions?

[jazzpants]

TaBalie: AUGH!!! Sorry to hear about your arm and wrist!!! OUCH! Get well soon! :cry:

Jingle Bells: Made it to JFK and my in-laws in one piece. Am resting comfortably now!

"Santa.... PHEW!!! Take a BATH ALREADY!!!"
Made it to JFK just in time for the MTA Transit Strike to start! TOTALLY SUCKS!!! Thank goodness I'm in Long Island, but makes traveling to the different rinks in Manhattan difficult. (I was hoping to make it to Chelsea Piers and Central Park during my stay...and get some major shopping done before Christmas.) :evil:

[TaBalie]

Thanks so much for the well wishes! I think I will get back on the ice next week, but just do stroking, etc.

Jazzpants---soooooo frustrating re: the MTA strike. I hope you get to skate at those destinations (report the details if you do! :) )

[mikawendy]

Jingle Bells--
Skated in two shows this weekend (see the holiday shows thread). Both were really fun to be in and to watch--great experiences.

Santa Smells--
Turned up on Monday for jump class to find it was cancelled. I skated the freestyle session beforehand but really had turned up mainly for the class, and I was pooped on the ice, so didn't push myself as hard as usual.

Interesting aside--
My husband and I were watching one of the GP events recently. My husband is not a huge fan of skating, and he acts like watching it on TV is a special form of torture. I commented on one skater's triple axel and he corrected me and said that the guy had only done a double axel, and sure enough, he was right. He also remembered some of the skaters we were watching and remembered who he liked and didn't like. (So now I'm thinking that some of his moans and groans are put on....) :D :D

[Thin-Ice]

Interesting aside--
My husband and I were watching one of the GP events recently. My husband is not a huge fan of skating, and he acts like watching it on TV is a special form of torture. I commented on one skater's triple axel and he corrected me and said that the guy had only done a double axel, and sure enough, he was right. He also remembered some of the skaters we were watching and remembered who he liked and didn't like. (So now I'm thinking that some of his moans and groans are put on....) :D :D

MAYBE your husband and mine are related: my husband who claims to know nothing about skating will walk into the room and say something like "Gee, hasn't Sasha lost too much weight? Her jumps don't seem as high, so maybe she's not getting enough to eat" or "gee, when did Kurt Browning lose ALL his hair?". If he doesn't know ANYTHING about skating, how does he know who these people are and what they were doing/looked like before now? :roll:

[Thin-Ice]

Santa Smells:

Couples lesson went fairly well, but why do I sometimes get the feeling that the coach focusses on my errors more than on Husband's? Sometimes it really is him-not-me, but to hear my coach at times, you'd think I had a perfect partner.


Perhaps your coach thinks YOU are more "coachable" (i.e. paying more attention or can make changes more readily? Although I will grant you this can be very frustrating!

When a friend and I were preparing our "couples" number for ISI Worlds last year, my friend -- who I will grant you is a better skater than I am, because she skated pairs as a teenager -- would get very little feedback from our coach. Everything was about me "pointing your toe more" or "holding your head up" or "going faster". Later, during my private lesson I asked our coach why she always pointed out MY errors... and she said "when I tell you to do something, she improves it too, and she becomes defensive when I point out what she's doing below standards. So sometimes, even when you're doing fine, I just put your name in front of what I want her to correct." It was maddening to hear.. but I do understand her logic.

[Mrs Redboots]

Santa Smells (cut down on the beans, old chap!): Get to the rink this morning and the Coach wonders aloud where the Husband is! Duh, that's next week.... actually, today is the last day he is working this year, and he's gone up to Newcastle to sort something out, so crawled out of the house at about 05:00.

Plus in my lesson I found that my unprintable cross-cuts had vanished! Wail.... I could do them last week! And I have no idea what I was doing differently that I couldn't do them this week, and nor did my coach, who usually does know!

Jingle Bells: However, my back cross-rolls were relatively okay, and the other exercises I did not too bad, and then I made the coach dance with me as it was Christmas. So that was fun. We did the Swing Dance and the Fiesta Tango to the music, so he could feel for himself where I was having trouble, and why - but oh, bliss being partnered by him, he does make it so much easier compared to Husband. ("Well, so I should!" he said, when I said this, which is, of course, true). Then as he didn't have any other pupils this morning (although one grabbed him for a session on the harness as he was free), we walked through the Foxtrot (why do I lose my right foot doing that Mohawk? It never goes on the ice where I think it's going to go!) and the 14-step (much more successful; I think next lesson I'll make him do it with me to the music).

How come I can do the level 6 dances (Willow & 14-step) reasonably well, but I have trouble with the Foxtrot, which is only level 5?

[flo]

Santa smells; my favorite winter leotard, that I've had for years and years is starting to fall apart.
Jingle Bells: Had a great lesson and worked on some pairs elements with my coach. Lots of fun.

[phoenix]

How come I can do the level 6 dances (Willow & 14-step) reasonably well, but I have trouble with the Foxtrot, which is only level 5?

because the Foxtrot is a harder dance! I believe that to be true, especially where the 14 step is concerned. If you can do that mohawk, the rest is a piece of cake. Foxtrot is much more difficult, both in the steps and in the partnering.

And I too am always the one getting corrections in my team lessons. Last week, *finally*, coach gave partner a correction not once, but twice (!)----but when I rejoiced briefly by saying, "so---it was HIM, not ME that was doing it wrong??" Coach promptly ruined it by retorting: "I said he did it wrong. I did not say that you did it right." •sigh•

I'm willing to accept that much of the problem is me, but it sure would be nice to hear a little more thrown my partner's way too. Interesting that we all have that same experience.

[mikawendy]

Santa smells; my favorite winter leotard, that I've had for years and years is starting to fall apart.


You might want to make a paper pattern of it (and save it once it does fall apart)--you might be able to get someone to make a copy of it....

[flo]

Mika good idea. Congrats on two shows this weekend!
I think I got it when I started skating, so it's held up pretty well.

[Casey]

Santa Smells: Everything sucks. I hate the whole period of time right around xmas. My skating friend of over a year and I had a falling out. My blades are dull and need sharpened, but I won't be able to afford it until January. My rink is excluding the time between xmas and new year's from the monthly rate, so I'll be off ice for a week. Everything skating-wise is kinda crappy, but I'm blaming it all on the above factors, for now. Hopefully things pick up in January.

</whine>

[Skate@Delaware]

Jingle Bells: Because I'm still tired from the show, we worked on "fun stuff" which meant jumps 8O so we (I) did waltz (which was good), salchow (rushed but good), toe-loop (fair but that's an issue jump with me). I told her I've just been taught the 1/2 lutz so we hit on that and she tweaked it. That is a cool jump! Then she taught me the Ballet Jump! My first few attempts were clunky and dorky.....so I need to work on that one.

Santa Smells: Then we hit the loop jump. :frus: I have problems getting over on my edge, so she had me switch back to the 3-turn entrance with no luck. So, we practiced a backspinny-thing, to get me over on that outside edge, and then going right into the jump from back crossovers. I fell onto my left hip once (nice bruise today I forgot about my arnica cream last night but did ice it), but I actually got over onto that edge once!!! And, because I'm doing this backspinny thing, I actually did a backspin!

So, for practice today (assuming the rink isn't swarming with kids, since 1/2 the schools are out already), loops, toe-loops, 1/2 lutz, 1/2 flip, flip & ballet jumps! Spins-scratch & backspin! Back 3's! 3-turns with speed! 8O

Today I'm also trying out my "new" skates I got off E-bay. I've moved the blade over a bit more so I'll see how it goes.

[sk8pics]

All Jingle Bells today: Salchow is not scary any more, although not back to its best level, but I'll take it for now. Big thing today was that I did my whole new interpretive program with the music and all the jumps and was able to do everything, only clutch my coach once or twice (he hovers nearby when I'm new to a program), and finished right with the music. Second run through was actually a little better. What a relief, because even a week ago I couldn't see how it was ever going to work! In fact, my reaction last week every time I got to the salchow in my new program was 8O :frus: . But today it didn't seem so bad. Then we ran through my free program, which I hadn't done since the Halloween Classic. First did it without the music to see if I remembere the steps, then with the music, and it was pretty good. Really surprised me and made me feel good.

Also my moves lesson was good. My moves coach brought his little girl with him, set up with a movie to watch while he taught me, and I'd brought her a little travel cannister of peanut M&M's so she had that to nibble on while she watched the movie. Very cute kid.

Also gave my primary coach his Christmas present today and he liked it. So that was good, too!

Happy Holidays to everyone!
Pat

[Terri C]

This is for this week:

Jingle Bells: Spins are coming back. I'm still a little off on the forward acratch, but the backscratch and sit have made up for it. Toeloop is making it's way back too.

Santa Smells:
Our rink does not believe in heat- even in the lobby. Any ideas on how to get management to turn the heat on!?
Since we have no heat and our rinks are like meatlockers, it's hard to do basic things like bend knees. So moves were tough this week.
Secondary coach was sick all week, but came to the rink to teach yesterday. I tried to convince her to scrap my lesson and go home and rest, as she has a long drive to her parent's house tomorrow. She did start my lesson, but cut it 10 minutes short and told me to take the time off on the next week's bill.
She cancelled the lessons following mine.

[miraclegro]

Jingle Bells: OUR RINK IN TOWN OPENS IN JANUARY! I've been driving for forever for 1 - 3 hours for over 6 years to get lessons and ice time! YEAH!!!!!!


Santa Smells: Still struggling with my Klingbeils; talked to the Klingbeil owner this week and have to send back boots and blades included for him to evaluate! Bad news: my back up skates have NO blades! Need to get 9 3/4" pair of MK pros FAST!

[phoenix]

Santa Smells: Well, I'd better either learn to skate fast (meaning quick feet, quick turns), or my coach is going to beat it into me! Today we started out working on the Kilian, but everytime I hit the cross stroke/slide chasse into the choctaw, I break at the waist & therefore lose my balance. Coach says it's because I don't know how to balance when skating with quick tempo.

So we spent the rest of the time on exercises doing very scary turns with NO time allowed in between to catch my balance. Better suck it up & do the turn, ready or not. Worst was back inside edges to a quick 3/bracket, which I can just barely do slowly. I was really scared & when I get scared I get mad, so poor coach got glared at a lot & told to shut up when he laughed once after I gave out a half-scream when I caught a blade & almost fell. Then later I really did fall, pretty hard. "Bend your knees more. Upper body must stay still. Free leg must stay still. Again please."

Jingle Bells: Even though I cursed my way around the rink :oops: I actually did it, and then, even more horror, had to add a second 3/bracket after the first: RBI, LBI, RBI, 3/bracket/3/bracket, LBI, RBI, etc..... 8O And I did it. I was scared out of my mind, but I did it. And I'm going to go in tomorrow on my own & do it again.

(does anyone else have the need to apologize to their coach after every lesson?) :??

[jazzpants]

Finally, FINALLY had my lesson with my coach at Chelsea Piers!

We went thru Power Pulls (which was actually better after he fixed some minor things - check jingle bells
We went thru crossovers, not great but not too bad. Neutral...
Scratch spin: Did two. Did a minor change and it was great again. He says it could always be better but it's good enough as is "for now." Check Jingle bells.
Loops... ummmm... that's a Santa smell! (Coach hint my foot lightly with his gloves going "Bad foot! Bad foot!!!) He thinks I should have my loop. (Yeah, so do I... :roll: ) He thinks I'm just don't trust that I would land it. (Yeah, I know. Boc boc boc boc....)
FI mohawks - could be better. Better put it on a Santa smell for now...
(Almost) empty rink - Jingle bells.
Finally getting to work with this coach after looking forward to it pretty much since I've been planning to go back to NYC again this year... JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE!!! :mrgreen: (I'll be calling/emailing him for a second lesson next week! I had such a wonderful time with him that I want another round before I go home! :mrgreen:
Tomorrow will be the lesson with the Moves Guru! Wish me luck surviving this guy!!! 8O :lol: FrankR: I'll assume by the time you read this and respond that you survived him? :lol: Seriously, I'm kidding (sorta.) I think he's wonderful and am really looking forward to working with him the next couple of weeks!!! :D

[Mrs Redboots]

Santa Smells: Have absolutely no voice & probably shouldn't have been skating, but am I bothered? Anyway, couldn't do anything fast, or I'd have coughed, but did have about 30-45 minutes actually on the ice.

Jingle Bells: Worked on various moves with the Husband, including our spin, a "highlight" for our free dance, and various turns and stuff. Didn't practice our lift, though (last time we did it, he was like "Hey, where's your weight gone?" which rather reminded me of his comment to Coskater64 on a famous occasion......).

Oh, and I passed my driving test yesterday.... yes, I managed to survive 52 years on this earth without having a driving licence, but that's changed now!

[max]

Congratulations Annabel. It's much harder to pass your driving test when your older. I think you are more aware of all the potential problems whereas the teenagers all think they are invincible.

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

[sk8pics]

Santa Smells: Still struggling with my Klingbeils; talked to the Klingbeil owner this week and have to send back boots and blades included for him to evaluate! Bad news: my back up skates have NO blades! Need to get 9 3/4" pair of MK pros FAST!

I have an old pair of MK pros that are 9 3/4". They're still useable, and have a few sharpenings left, but for me I felt they had gotten too flat. If you're interested, I'll sell them to you cheap. PM me if you are.

And Mrs. Redboots --congrats on getting your driver's licence! I can't imagine doing that as an adult! Much easier when you are younger, I think!

Pat

[BelleOnIce]

CONGRATULATIONS Mrs. Redboots on passing your driving test!!

Santa Smells- My rink is going to be closed for a period of time (unknown yet) after the new year. It has been having problems for a while, one of which is the ice being uneven and causing a slight hill! Means I will have to travel quite a distance which is not good as I am in my final year at uni and have lots of exams this year!!

Jingle Bells- My skating this week has been better than last few, about a month ago I fell and hit my head badly on a double loop (jump I have always been scared off) so I hadn't been jumping much but this week I faced my fears and managed to do ok. Oooo and I also found a good position for my layback!!

Also a non skating Jingle Bells- went to see my 3 1/2 year old niece in her playgroup nativity this morning! She had been given the part of the angel! She was really good and sang all the songs, remembering most of the words!! I was very impressed with all the kids, they managed to do the whole thing without much bother, except the wise men throwing the presents at the crib and then fighting over them! And it was all finished off with a visit from Santa and also a raffle in which I managed to win a bottle of perfum!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

[FrankR]

Tomorrow will be the lesson with the Moves Guru! Wish me luck surviving this guy!!! 8O :lol: FrankR: I'll assume by the time you read this and respond that you survived him?

LOL! I did indeed survive. :D As a matter of fact we had several really good exchanges that I'm going to have to share. To stay on topic I guess I'd have to throw these in the Jingle Bells category. ;)

Exchange 1:
Coach: You're hammering your toe in when you do your lutz and flip jumps!
Me: Do you want to take a look at them and help me out with those?
Coach: No! :evil: We've talked about them already.
Me: But I still need help!
Coach: You should fix them yourself. I've already said all I have to say. At this point I don't think you'll ever fix it.
Me: :evil: I'm going to prove you wrong!
Coach: Good! Then when you do it I want you to come up to me and say "In you face, Mr. Edward!"
Me: Nope. I'll just do it and look at you serenely and gloat on the inside! :twisted:

Exchange 2:
Coach: I am happy with the way the beginning of the program has come together.
Me: You had said that I wasn't really hitting my positions clearly and that the choreography was sort of muddled because of that last week. Is that better now?
Coach: 8O Didn't I say I was happy with it? Why can't you just take a compliment from me?
Me: Well that's because they're so rare! I mean, think about it this way. 99% of the time when a person wins the lottery the first words out of their mouth is "I can't believe it!" That's kind of what's going on in my head right now. :D

Exchange 3:
Coach: Have a happy holiday! (Gives me a hug)
Me: You too! (Returns said hug)
Coach: I guess I won't be seeing you tomorrow.
Me: What do you mean?
Coach: Aren't you coming to skate tomorrow?
Me: I thought the rink was closed tomorrow for the holiday.
Coach: No! It's a normal schedule.
Me: Oh! Well I might come in then.
Coach: Good! Well if you're coming tomorrow then I want my hug back! :??
Me: 8O

:lol: :lol: :lol: And that folks is just a sample of the comedic stylings of coach and pupil that I like to call my weekly lessons with my moves coach/choreographer. ;)

Have a great holiday!

Frank

[coskater64]

Jingle Bells: Jumps are finally starting to get where they were 10 weeks ago. Got flip double toe to go again, confidence is coming back slowly. Spins are good and double loop is just annoying w/ the 1/4 cheat.

Moves are good with the exception of the choctaw. New clockwise circular footwork is starting to flow well almost looks CCw. (yeah right)

Happy holidays to all.

[mikawendy]

Jingle Bells--
Had a great lesson last night--worked hard on Bronze moves. Slowly, ever so slowly, the BI-BI push in the power perimeter backward crossovers and in the power threes is getting better. We also worked on the pattern placement of the 5 step, especially the entire "left" lobe (the LFI-RBI side) as it was totally smushed before.

Scratch and sit spins were centered (for once).

Santa Smells--
My salchow bites! A lot!

[jazzpants]

Well, I had my moment this afternoon with FrankR's moves coach/choreographer.

Jingle Bells:
First thing: I knew the lesson was at 3:45pm. The problem was I didn't know which rink. I saw the schedule of the rinks and thought it was in Rink 3, when it really was in Rink 1. (Note: Ice House has FOUR RINKS in the building!!! The place is HUGE!!!)

Second thing: I found myself in a rather crowd and very intimidating group of skaters who really knew what they were doing. Lots of kids doing triples. I thought I was in the wrong FS session...

Then I spotted Edward at Rink 1 calling my cell from the ice. I said "I'm here waiting for you outside" and wave to him from the window. He spotted me and said "Well, why aren't you coming down here warming up then???" :roll: Of course, I know better than to challenge him on that. Quickly warmed up for my lesson. (Had only like a few minutes of it. The rink was very cold and very crowded!!! 8O

I showed my perimeter forward crossovers and he said "Well, it's not too bad. At least, I don't have to go over the entire pattern with you at least." I took it as a compliment and proceed to do his magic on me. Moves Guru does things, as he describes it, "in a militaristic fashion. Nothing blends together. Every thing is very separate." (He forgot to add "very deliberate" too!) Of course, he also comes off a bit...ummmm intimidating... and this is only my first lesson too!!! I could see why he's jokingly called the "Moves Nazi!" :lol: :twisted:

He stopped me right after I started the perimeter back crossovers and said "No no no STOP!!! I want you to do THIS!!!" And he explained what he wanted me to do and I tried it out. He then said "You do this and life would be a lot easier. Do you your old way and you're gonna get yourself KILLED out there!"

But you know something, he fits the profile of the type of coach that I was shopping for. He's a bit rough and quite intimidating, but he knows his stuff and is very methotical about things. I came off the ice telling hubby "He scares me to death, but GOD I LOVE HIM!!! I want to take him home with me back to San Francisco!!!" :lol: (And hubby can tell I'm telling the truth, b/c he said that while he was filming me, Edward just couldn't get that BIG GRIN off my face even though he was rough with me!!!)

I have a lot of notes that I need to write down and memorize. After the lesson, he came out and met hubby. Hubby asked about my lesson and he said "It was a very good lesson! Very productive!" And it was. There were a lot of notes that I'm trying to keep track of... and he did admit a lot of it is like "patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time." (Ummm... I can do that. Keeping track of all the notes he gave me to do... THAT is a LOT harder!!! 8O )

Santa (and drunk guy) MAJOR STENCH :evil: :
The commute to Hackensack from Long Island (and w/o a car) was, ummm interesting.... Getting to Hackensack was long b/c 1) hubby insisted we take the train rather than the bus straight from Port Authority b/c "it would have taken too long!!!" Problem #1: I had plan on going thru Port Authority on the 165 bus straight thru and not thru the train!

Problem #2: From the North Hackensack train station, we decided to make it easier and tried to take a cab, b/c hubby didn't want to do the 1/4 mile walk! :roll: ANOTHER BAD IDEA!!! The cab never came! And we took the next bus that was available... I almost didn't make it to the lesson!!! :cry:

Problem #3: Coming back was also an adventure. We missed the last train leaving from Hackensack to Seacaucus station to New York Penn Station. We had to hitch a ride with a cabby who took me, hubby and this REALLY obnoxiously drunk guy that the cabbie had to drop off quickly. Thankfully, the drunk's trip was only 5 minutes!!! (And yes, it was 5 minutes too long too! :evil: :roll: ) We took a rather expen$ive cab ride back to the Seacaucus Junction to catch a train back to New York Penn Station. :x

Meanwhile, hubby and I had a major row in the taxi after the drunk guy came out. He wanted nothing more than just to stay at his parents' home and sleep. I wanted to go out and do a lot everything and anything!!! I was pissed. (What's the point of travelling all the way to New York if all you want to do is just sleep the two weeks away???") :frus:

Jingle Bells (Foodie Alert):
Part of the blame for not catching the train was that I didn't know what time the last train leaves from North Hackensack back to Seacaucus. And instead of leaving back for the train right away, I ended up at this FANTASTIC hamburger place where I got these really juicy, fattening and cheap hamburgers for dinner!!! We heard about this place thru a teenage boy at the rink who overheard us planning for dinner and raved about White Manor on River St. (a short walk from the Ice House!) Anyone looking for something to break your diets on... this one's worth it, folks!!! Make time for it if you ever make it to the Ice House!!! It is WORTHY of this Bay Area Foodie!!! :bow: :yum:

Final words:

I told Edward after my lesson: "You know... I had a REALLY crappy commute coming here! You just made it worthwhile for me to make it there." (And trust me I had a REALLY BAD commute, so Edward made up for it thru his lesson BIG time for me!!! I would have been royally pissed if he was anything less than what he was with me today.)

[sk8pics]

Congrats Jazzpants! Glad you had a good time and I enjoyed your account of your lesson. Just out of curiosity, what were you doing that was going to get you killed on the back perimeter crossover stroking?

[jazzpants]

Just out of curiosity, what were you doing that was going to get you killed on the back perimeter crossover stroking?Ummmm... not looking behind me? :oops: The only consolation is that he says there are a lot of adults who do the same thing, so as far as he's concerned, I'm his average everyday beginning adult moves student.

"Can I take him home with me to San Francisco? Can I keep him, huh? Can I? Can I?" :P :lol:

[Skate@Delaware]

Santa Smells: Starting with this smelly note: my boots! yuk! I gave away almost all of my "spray" and now I'm out of lavender oil. I also tried out my "new" used skates from ebay and they sure felt weird! I really pitched onto my toepick. Don't know exactly why unless the blade (which is a different one) had been messed up somehow. No big deal, since I'm swapping blades. I also felt lower in the boots. Weird. I haven't measured my blades to see of there is a height difference :?? I wonder if anyone else has experienced this?

Jingle Bells: Making progress in the loop! I actually have a curved entrance to this darned jump! Able to get 3/4 of the way around most of the time and did manage a full rotation, even though they are two-footed (yeah, so what?) Did several backspins & scratch spins! Getting better at lifting my free leg up. No toe-loops though. Today's session wasn't too crowded and there were only 3 boys acting up, but I knew the dad so he made them settle down a bit. Hubby actually did his scratch spins in the center ice!!! If only he would bend his knees more. Oh well, at least he conquered those mohawks! he was ready to quit.

We also talked about pair elements-he was a bit confused about what they were. I want to add a pair spiral in our routine, but he's not confident enough to spiral, let alone a pair spiral. :cry: Darn! It would be sooooo cool! I don't want our routine to be stupid! It might end up with him standing on the ice and me skating around him :evil: (at least that's what it seems like we've got right now). I'm going to cut our music down to 1:30 max instead of the full piece-we just won't have enough interesting elements. There's always next year!

[sk8pics]

Ummmm... not looking behind me? :oops: The only consolation is that he says there are a lot of adults who do the same thing, so as far as he's concerned, I'm his average everyday beginning adult moves student.

:lol: :lol: Oh, yes, that certainly can get you killed! There are plenty of kids who do that, too, and it is one of my pet peeves! Anyway, glad you had a good lesson!