Finally

Who knew 2 1/2 days of work could feel soooo long.  All of the kids completely checked out last week.  I'm pretty sure all the staff felt that way by Monday of this week.  All I could think this week was, "Seriously.  We are still in school and it's 4/3/2 days until Christmas."  Silly NYC schools.  My co-teacher and I managed to entertain ourselves today by dressing as snowwomen.  We wore the white sweater tunics a parent bought us and made buttons and top hats out of construction paper.  The kids loved it for the 30 minutes max that it lasted.  Luckily we only had a half day of school and were done by 12:30.  That could not have come quick enough.  I have been exhausted this week from a combination of work, holiday related stuff, and not sleeping soundly.

Despite all of this I still got off the subway around 1:45pm and though "hmm, I wonder if I have time to go skating...".  I quickly ruled out the thought since I had to leave for the airport at 4:30 and had things to do before leaving.  It's interesting, though, how addicted I've become to skating in the last 5 or 6 weeks.  I haven't felt that kind of excitement since regattas in high school and college.  I think it's this whole combination of the fun of skating, learning something new, picking up things quickly, and being a part of something.  Mauvais Gardien has made comments that basically support my last thought.  Although I cannot say it as eloquently, she has said that when you see someone in a hockey sweater, even if its a team you don't like, there's at least a level of respect because they enjoy the sport.

I was especially thinking about that after my lesson on Monday.  Now that I have my hockey pants, shin guards, and hockey socks, I go to the women's locker room to change at the rink.  One of the women in the intermediate class (Monday adult skate lessons are split on the ice.  Ice skaters on one side and then the two hockey classes on the other) asked when I was going to join them because it looked like I was doing well in the beginning class.  In this case it wasn't about different jerseys but it was about learning hockey.  I felt like, also, beyond learning hockey, we were women learning hockey.  As evident by common knowledge and the pictures on the locker room doors (men's locker room has a hockey player, women's locker room has a figure skating), we are the minority.  As a result, there is a common respect for each other.

After wine at the airport I totally forgot where I was going with this.  My tolerance is so low now.  To sum things up: Hockey rocks.  Skating Rocks.  Wine rocks.  The holidays rock.

JFK does not rock though.

I think you can see the alcohol taking affect through this entry.

Curse the Outside Edge

Just over a month after I first starting skating for real (not counting once or twice a year with rented skated), I notice a big difference in what skating feels like.  The ice doesn't feel slippery, I can still skate fast on chopped up ice, I can do more than just skate in a circle kind of fast, and I know the feeling of the outside and inside edge. 

I can do more than just skate in a circle kind of fast:

• I can do foward and backwards swizzles as well as skate foawrd and backwards.  
• I can also do a hockey stop.  
• I can make sharper and faster turns
• I've pretty much got a crossover down (going to the right is harder)

Doing a crossover on a right turn is hard for me just as turning to the right is more difficult.  I read something in a hockey book that made sense: Almost all skating rinks have a counter clockwise skating pattern.  So if, like me, you were not fortunate enough to be put in skates when you were young, you sarted off skating at open skates.   Even now, in order to practice I have to go to open skate.  My muscles are therefore used to left turns.

I know the feeling of the outside and inside edge.  And I hate the outside edge.  Okay, I don't hate you, you're just scary.  Aside form pure balance, the outside edge takes trust.  You have to trust that your ankle isn't going to fail you.  You have to trust that even though you are leaning (not sure if that's the right word) towards the ice, you will not fall.  One of the guys and I were doing figure eights to practice crossovers on Monday.  We both bit it into the ice quite a few times.  At least he has some pads on.  The inside edge is all fun in games but that outside edge is no joke.  After skating yesterday, I'm getting a much better feel for it now.

Before I can switch to the intermediate class, I think I only need to master a few more things:

• Switching between forward and backward skating (that's tricky for me)
• Backwards crossover (haven't tried yet)
  

I think that's all of the basic stuff,  yes?  I couldn't even stop a month ago so I'm happy with my progress.  Too bad I didn't start skating when I was little.  Neither of my parents can skate, though, so that's probably why.  I guess they aren't Swedish enough.  Maybe I inherited all the Swedish genes- especially the ones from my great-grandma.  She came to America on a boat by herself.  That's what we call an 1800s badass.