Sorry to hear it. Maybe it's just the summertime blues for both of us (yeah, I know most people talk about that whole seasonal anxiety disorder taking effect in the winter, but we're skaters, so we _like_ seeing ice. ;-) Let me know if you do change your lessons around, and what the effect is.

Fresh: I had a really good day today, as far as a day without skating goes. First, I went to a job interview -- it's at a big giant corporation, and I hate corporations, but it's for a 6-month contract, so at least there would be a clean exit in site, and I could generate some much-needed money in the bank (which I could in turn use for more coaching and such).

Mouldy: The interview was okay...as far as the technical questions went I had no problems, however I carried myself pretty poorly because of my lingering illness, I was super-stuffy and had a dry mouth and had to cough a few times. Plus my mouth got so dry that I couldn't talk properly, so I had to ask for a glass of water. :/

Fresh: On the way back from the interview, I stopped by OlympicView Arena, which is the nicest ice rink in these here parts, and one I've always dreamed of skating at. I had heard about a very tempting unlimited skating pass from another skater online, so I thought I'd inquire. And yes! If I join USFSA through that rink, then as an adult skater I can get UNLIMITED ice time for $110/month. The amount of freestyle sessions per day varies month-to-month, and is the worst in the summer because they have "summer school" which is a pretty intense all-day skating exercise which eats a good number of the hours, but even at the worst they said there would be at least 3 or 4 sessions every day, and come September, there would be pretty much 6am-6pm freestyle every weekday. In addition, some of these sessions are adult-only, but none exclude adults! YEAH!!!

Fresh: As I was chatting with the skating club lady, the skating club director who had been skating came in and we started chatting about coaching. I told him I'd probably want to try lessons with a few different coaches, and he said that would be no problem. He printed me up a list of all the coaches and their qualifications, and said that 4 of them were "adult-friendly", including him! I told him I hadn't taken any tests, and he wanted to know what track I wanted to follow, either the regular or adult one. I was a bit thrown off by this question, as I didn't know the regular one was an option, so I asked which was best. He asked if I ever planned to compete, and I said eventually, so he said that I'd want to be on the adult track then, because you can't compete at adult competitions otherwise. He went on to highly praise the ANs and said they were a huge load of fun. I also mentioned that I might want to start pairs skating at some point, and he said that some of the coaches teach pairs too, and he was one of them - apparently he had 3 different sets of pair skaters who placed in the top 4 at the last AN (or maybe he didn't say just pairs). I told them I'd be back to sign up when they got more application forms made (they were out) in a few days. The director also showed me the gym (which is separated from the rink by a wall of glass) and ballet room - two more wonderful features that are available free of charge to members.

Mouldy: I stopped by the bank on the way home to deposit the last bit of cash I had in my wallet. Things are looking pretty grim at the moment as far as finances go. No worries though, as soon as I'm well again I'll work a few days through the local labor hall to make ends meet AND join the skating club.

Fresh: As soon as I got home, the agency that got me the interview phoned me up to say that the interview went very very well, and I'd probably have the job if I could hold out until Friday or Monday. This was a real confidence booster because to date I've never had an in-person interview and not gotten the job (getting the interview has always been the hard part for me). So that's looking hopeful.

Mouldy: If I do get that job, I won't be able to skate as much. If I don't get that job, I won't be able to afford coaching at the new rink. Also, if I get that job, I won't be able to do the summer school thing at the new rink, which sounded quite appealing; but I can't easily afford to do it otherwise. Ahh the torture...

I'm really excited about the new rink though. The director was really friendly, really encouraging to adult skaters, teaches pairs too, and... $110/month for unlimited ice time!! At a rink that normally charges $10/session! I think I just figured out who my next coach will be (though I want to try a couple of the others too). And olympic-sized ice! I've never skated on ice that big!

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Yes. The ones you probably want have gel that runs from the base of the heel up the achilles tendon. I have two of these that I use occaisionally use when my skates are feeling loose.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Casey, did you talk to Steve? I'm pretty sure that's who it is... he has a pretty neat accent

Ooh and... when are you gonna get back on the ice? (just curious)

Does the $110/mo. apply for non-adult skaters or not? just wondering, cuz that might be interesting for me too

Ok first... thanks for the hint on the bunga pads

2nd... I got your pm. Too bad I'm not an adult Thanks though! good to know

Yeah, Steve Baker. He seemed like a really great guy all around. Do you know where his accent is from? I was going to ask but our time was limited and I had more important things to ask about!

As soon as I feel better! Hopefully tomorrow.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Okay, it's been updated... here's the announcement!!! Caryn Kadavy is our elite skater!!!

(I officially signed up in the ensemble as of Monday night, so the cast list will change. I could think at least 3-4 other skaters who just joined too so their names will be added to the ensemble list too.)

Minor chuckle: Our choreographer was going thru what we all will likely be wearing to skate... when she turns, looks directly at me and says "...and as for you, Ms. Purple Boots, OVER THE BOOTS TIGHTS!!!" (My reply was a jokingly reluctant "Yes, ma'am!" )

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

This show sounds wonderful . . . where & when is it???? I have scoured the announcement & the ticket info -- unless I've just totally overlooked it there is NO DATE, NO LOCATION, not even a CITY.

Jazzpants is in the San Francisco area, as I recall from previous postings.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Yeah, I don't see it either... it's at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center in San Francisco, CA. There is a Buy Tickets link on the top of the main website here!

There are a lot of really good skaters that are also gonna be doing the show besides Kavady -- including our very own "Live To Skate" Burt! It's quite possible that there will be another elite skater in this program, though I certainly haven't heard anything official to that effect yet. And if you're into Broadway shows, we also have Ellen Greene as our special singing guest star too.

As for what's gonna be in the "more mature audience" show, I have no clue, but I would bring your Disney kid to the 6:30pm show and NOT the 9:30pm show. (Oh, God! This is gonna be a LOOOOONG evening!!!)

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Mouldy

I'm still not skating, plus all the rinks in Milano are closed for summer


Fresh

I'm doing gymnastics, stretching and jumps off ice every day for being in shape in september when I will be skating again

Fresh: Back on the ice after a week. Skates still feel good. They are broken in enough now that I'm almost back in my comfort zone as far as footwork and edgework goes!

Mouldy: I'm too hard on myself. I expect things to be perfect NOW and need to gain some patience. I can visualize perfect jumps and spins in my head, and get frustrated when I can't translate that onto the ice.

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Fresh
I had another good lesson today. I ran through my programme clean twice. Well, I did have to omit the lutz-loop on the first run-through because a bunch of skaters decided to congregate into the lutz corner just at the wrong time. Still I got it the second time. My coach reckons my camel spin is getting better - my leg is getting higher. Dammit, I thought it was pretty high already! Seriously though, it has improved no end since switching my spins around in my programme. I simply cannot pull off a decent camel - sit right at the end of my programme.

Mouldy
Piriformis syndrome is back with a vengence. It happens every time I step up the intensity in the weeks leading up to a competition. I'm sure it's the entry into my spins that aggravates it. Anyhow, I'm back on the ibuprofen for a few days. At least until the competition is over and I can ease up on the intensity a bit.

Nicki

Mouldy:
"Summertime.... and the skating AIN'T easy!!!"

Yup, folks!!! It's summer time! No school = a very VERY crowded late morning FS session!!! 23 skaters on our NHL size ice rink today -- not including the coaches too!!! YIKES!!! It's gonna be like this ALL SUMMER LONG!!! NOOOOOO!!!!

Fresh: That I was awake for my lesson??? And the secondary coach has changed her schedule at the last minute for the summer and she didn't tell me about it until I walked onto the ice. Soooo.... b/c of that, my lesson was a freebie this morning!! (I now have a shortened lesson at a earlier timeslot!!! But at least the cost of skating is slightly adjusted so I have a bit of breathing room for a NICE cup of Starbucks and pastries now.)

Had a change to my program. I like it better!

Will try to figure out how to deal with primary coach's schedule too... He wants to switch me in the morning FS too!!! I'm thinking of trying to sneak out from work to go to coffee club now... at least then I'll get a wee bit more space (and some coffee and donuts too!)

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Mouldy (i) - need to get the LFI mohawk at *full* speed for a local synchro comp next month. I'm a CW skater and hate the LFI mohawk at the best of times. It's really not looking good. (Coming to a dead stop to turn isn't what the judges want.)

Mouldy (ii) - need to get the RFI mohawk at double speed for the same comp. This I hope is achievable.

Mouldy (iii) - this Sunday's practice is at 5.30 am! That's the middle of the night - in winter, no less! On Sunday too (the one chance in the week that hubby and I can banish the kids to the playroom for half an hour in the morning, and get a short sleep-in). Berrk.

Fresh (i) - I have a fudge for mouldy (ii) which will work, so there's something I can do instead if necessary. (Now for a fudge for mouldy (i), so that I have something to fall back on...)

Fresh (ii) - I've found that having to learn this routine has made me a lot faster that I used to be - not that that's saying a lot, as a mouldy snail would give me a fair race. Proof that challenging yourself pays dividends.

Fresh:
Had a lesson with primary coach and did not, repeat did not work on any moves! Instead, we started to work on my freeskate for Peach to see what kind of shape it's in and I had a clean program sans the backscratch at the end!
For those that want to know my mom is doing better! I felt that I skated pretty well this week considering the circumstances!

Mouldy:
I want my backscratch back and I want it NOW!!!
Toe loop takeoffs were a little wonky today!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Fresh: Learned, and landed, flip and lutz today!! I now know all the singles, except the axel, which my coach says we'll start working on soon! YIKES! I never dreamt I would get my singles this fast. I guess in reality, only the flip and lutz are new, because I did learn the others when I was little. But that was many, many years ago. And I'm proud that I'm not too big of a chicken to be able to pick this up again!

Also made progress with the backspin, and coach showed me some stroking exercises to warm up with that will be fun.

Mouldy: Nothing tonight!

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Mouldy: I didn't sleep last night. This means my sickness didn't go away one bit. I went skating at 2:30pm, and the way the rink near my house works - the public session begins on the smaller of the 2 ice surfaces, which is also colder, and where they always put the hockey players to practice. At 4:15 or so after Freestyle ends on the main ice, public skating moves over to it and continues until 5:15. So anyways the small ice was REALLY cold today. I got on the ice shivering. I did some exercises to warm up, and I did a small bit, but the faster I tried to do anything, the colder I got because of how frigid the air was. My ears kept going numb and I felt like I was skating without my shirt on. It was ridiculous. After half an hour of torture, I went and watched freestyle for about 15 minutes, then subjected myself to another 15 minutes of torture. During this time, I kept getting super stuffy and needing to blow my nose, and hacking up all kinds of sickness fun. After try number two, I said screw it, and went and watched freestyle until the ice was available.

Starting to turn: The main rink was it's usual temperature, which was a lot more welcoming. My jumps had regressed even more, I couldn't spin at all, and it felt like yet another step down in my skating abilities. But my moves went pretty well, and I got some really deep edges that surprised me. It was like even though everything was terrible, some things were doing really well. I had a pretty leisurely skate until 5:00, at which point I felt too sick and exhausted to keep skating so I came home 15 minutes early, on rollerblades to boot.

FRESH!!!: I went skating again at 8pm. I asked myself why I was there as soon as I got there, but I've been doing that a lot recently. Tonight I also tried an experiment. Instead of my usual dress socks+bunga pads, I wore a sturdy pair of wool blend socks instead, and left the bungas at home. I got on the ice, and immediately started racing around and working on moves. God it went so well....everything was really good, almost everything came off clean and perfect, I didn't fall once, and everything felt better than ever. After an hour, they cut the ice, and I changed into my old beat-up Klingbeils which I still had around. They no longer felt comfortable, as they did when I tried them a few weeks after getting my new skates. I found I could do nearly everything on them, but it felt awkward and I could definitely feel the rocker problem on the blades (though I did manage to spin some really scratchy small spins, which is a first for those blades). I also noticed that in my Grafs, the front of the blade is set more towards my big toes, so I had a tendency to shift inward on the Klingbeils since my weight was focused more on the inside edges. After 5 minutes my feet started complaining loudly, so I got off the ice and changed back into the Grafs.

I started doing some jumps...and all that regression just totally went away. My jumps are all back to the best quality they have been. I taught myself the ballet jump and stag jump too, though my stag jump isn't much different from a regular half flip yet and I know my arms aren't correct for the ballet jump.

I got my phone and decided to take a video of my spins to see how they were coming along. The first spin I tried got 8 revolutions!!! The most I've ever gotten before today is 6. It travelled, but my god! 8 revolutions! The second was crap, the third got 7, the fourth got the usual 5. I started a second video, and on the first try got 10 revolutions, perfectly centered. And I got it on video to prove it! AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA I'm so happy!!! I took a picture of the tracings right then and there - it wasn't the ideal circles within circles, but the whole thing was within a square foot, which is pretty darn exceptional for me!

Spirals were feeling good, so I decided to take a video of them and see if they really were. Yes! They have improved, and I'm not quite sure why. At one point on an outside edge spiral my foot was level with my head! I didn't hold it there for long, but all in all they are looking better. My back spirals were even better than forward.

Guess what happened then??? I tried a loop from that dreaded RFI 3-turn entry, and landed it! I tried it again, and landed it AGAIN! I did one on video, it was the worst of the 3 and felt really sloppy with a rough landing, but I still landed it!!! Okay, I'm not getting any height and it's not pretty, but I'm landing this bloody jump so now I can work on improving it!

What is that move called where you hold your boot by the heel up as high as you can with a straight leg? I did some of those on film. Did plenty of spread eagles in both directions, and got my legs straighter. Did a bunch of outside spread eagles in the easiest direction, but my legs weren't at all straight for those.

Throughout all of this, my boots fit like a glove due to the thicker socks. No way am I going back to the dress socks I've been wearing (because my boots are slightly too large, and this compensates MUCH better than the bunga pads, without the sweat problems). I've realized all my recent boot worries don't matter - I can happily wear these skates indefinitely now.

After the session one of the regulars came up and exclaimed, "You're faster every time I see you!". I told him it was a really good night. I was just beaming...

I cannot express in words how happy I am right now. This has been my best day skating, ever. I don't care if I stay sick forever - it was worth it! Thank you all so much for being supportive when I was in a slump - with your help I kept going and made it through!

Here are the aforementioned video clips and pictures:
http://sk8rland.com/users/kc/picture...20050615-2.jpg
http://sk8rland.com/users/kc/video/i...ng/2005-06-15/

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Fresh: had a great skate last night. The new boots are slowly feeling better. It was a wonderful session (private ice), and Mika joined us, and looked great (I think she's on a plane en route to Phoenix).

Mouldy: Still lots of foot pain when I walk, but not when I skate!

Fresh: Empty ice . Also, the latter half of my program was revamped and I like it much better now. I think we finally have the final version, with six weeks left to perfect it. New costumes should be delivered today --- can't wait to try them on.

Moldy: My skating! I was skating on four hours of sleep and it showed. My legs were in full on protest mode. In addition, my blades need more re-positioning again according to my coach. It might be the cause of my sucky spins and power 3s lately.

Casey I haven't looked at all of your videos yet, just don't have the time, but I did look at your loop from the FI three and it's very impressive, especially because you did it with your free leg pretty much next to your skating leg instead of in front. Now try the FI three leaving your free leg in place so that after the turn it is in front of you ready for the loop take off. Hold your thighs tightly together for the three. You're going to get a much bigger and better jump that way.

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Fresh:

1. Had my first private lesson today! Yay! New coach is very nice and personable, and quite funny. He helped me fix my clunky crossovers and my crappy spins, and next week he'll look at my jumps.
2. Forward spins were actually pretty good as long as I went into them slow and controlled. When coach told me to bend my skating leg on the entrance then straighten both legs together after crossing, I spun so fast I literally freaked out.
3. Coach may have figured out why my sit spins are so bad - for some reason, my back is so straight that it's throwing me off balance. He told me not to think of it as a "sit" spin, but a "folding" spin. It really helped my balance once I concentrated on reeeeaaaching forward with my arms and letting my back get low to my leg.
4. Backspin also improved lots once he told me to check the right shoulder strongly back. I had some trouble with it at first, but at the end of the session (after much practicing) it was feeling more natural. Funny - I had been telling myself to make sure the spinning foot faced forward, but it's a lot easier to think of it in terms of checking the upper body. It's the same body position, really...
5. Coach says I have nice knee bend.
6. All in all, I was very pleased with my progress after my very first lesson. I think it actually helped that I was already fairly comfortable with the ice and knew how things were supposed to go generally.

Moldy:

1. Showed coach my v. sucky camel spin and I think I pulled my left hip strangely. Couldn't really put my weight on it to practice forward scratch and sit spins after my lesson. Maybe next week...
2. Coach declared my first characteristic: "Chicken!" My back is too straight on forward crossovers and sitspins. He says I'm afraid of tripping over the toepick, and he's probably right. Doesn't explain why my back is so straight on sitspins though. Can't accuse me of looking like Tim Goebel though!
3. Still afraid of stopping, but coach says my skates are very very sharp (well, yeah, I just got them sharpened) so I might as well take it easy. And to think it was even harder to stop before I had my hollow slightly flattened!

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"The ice is finer when the zombie goes over it!" - said by an excited 5-year-old at the rink

"The life you've led is in fact not the totality of what is possible for you." - John Partridge of Wheaton College (and a Matrix philosopher )

Funny - after my lesson last night on those dreaded mohawks, my coach said the same thing. Also - "Look, I'm going to need to teach you to spin CCW (the other way for me) to try to get the "spinny" feeling you need...I know you don't like it but you absolutely have to go there." He then grabbed me from behind and spun me round and round and round. Then gave me an exercise (near the wall thank goodness), where I have to step forward onto the right foot and spin 1.5 revs CCW on that foot. And then change to left foot and step forward to right foot and repeat. And repeat. Yuk. I can't say it helped yet.

ETA - sorry pressed "submit" rather than "preview" - Casey, hooray! Thank goodness you're past the hump. Now watch things get better and better. When you get to the next hump (as you surely will), you know you will eventually pull out of it and be heaps better than you expected. Go Casey!

HAHAHAHA I just found out about the earthquake that hit SoCal this afternoon. My friend in LA (farther from the epicenter than I was) asked me if I had felt it, and I thought she was talking about the one that happened on Sunday!

An article I found says that the moderate quake hit at around 1:53PM, right when I was taking my lesson! I didn't feel a thing! Coach didn't say anything either, and neither did anyone at the rink. Maybe the ice has good suspension?

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"The ice is finer when the zombie goes over it!" - said by an excited 5-year-old at the rink

"The life you've led is in fact not the totality of what is possible for you." - John Partridge of Wheaton College (and a Matrix philosopher )

I believe ice does have good suspension - I was once on ice during an earthquake (in Scotland, of all places!) and never felt a thing.....

Back on the ice today for the first time in ten days, and, once I got my feet under me, a surprisingly good skate.

Fresh: Husband and I did a very good run-through of our free dance, and he is actually managing to rotate with me in the lift at the end now! We are still far too slow in the waltz section, and I don't think we're selling any of it enough yet..... Yet again, I want to change the steps of the waltz section, but will, I think, bite my tongue until after Friday's competition. But the end of it is working well. Let's hope we'll be drawn last.....

Thought I'd forgotten my Dynaband (which I need for my artistic), but found it just as I was taking my boots off! Was able to run through my programme a couple of times. Am drawn last of 3 skaters, so guaranteed a Bronze medal, which will be nice - I'd far rather be 3rd out of 3 than 2nd out of 2. However, one of my opposition says she may have to withdraw as her skates are hurting her. But so are mine, so she better not.....

Mouldy: My feet hurt! I have a bunion or something growing and although I can probably get my skate punched out, I'll have to wait until next week as the guy in the shop is on holiday. Oh well. I've had an essential oil bottle (just the right size) in there all last week, but forgot to put it back after skating today.

Twizzles started out great, and even made the right sort of pattern on the ice, but couldn't do them after a bit. Oh well.....

Coach's saying of the week: Male coach to male skater: "No, not like that! Be a bit more manly!"

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Fresh: I remembered enough of the skills and tips I learned from the coaches in France and Germany to show my home coach and she was impressed at the improvements! She praised my upper body positions on the sprials and camel sand said I'm getting more lift on the salchow and loop.

Mouldy: After landing two flips on one foot in France and being told I had "excellent technique" in the jump, I promptly reverted to my normal two-footed landings on home ice. I'm getting more height and knee bend on the take-off and the darned thing is fully rotated. I just can't keep that free foot off the ice!

Because of crowded ice conditions on the summer sessions, I'll be taking a little time off from figures and focussing on the free skating for a while. My coach did mention that I might want to try some of the ISI figure tests for the fun of it. Does anymone know what they are or where I can find a list of them (I hate the ISI site for finding actual information!)? And can I start at the beginning and work my way up them or do I have to plunge in from where I left off in USFS testing a couple decades ago?