I do stuff other than skate when I'm unemployed!
I woke up at 6am on Sun morning, with plenty of time to go to lessons the only morning both Academy and adult group lessons meet -- and realized I'd be better off getting some extra sleep to treat my cold. Slept for another 3 hours, then dressed for the family gathering. I was feeling defensive when I got there, as my aunt had called to berate me for not being there at 11, even though my mom had told me it was at noon. And then I got there and only my brother the host was there. Bleh. I ended up having fun, enjoying talking about travels in Asia with my sister and her bf and getting quality time with Bbro, who nearly gave my mum a heart attack by telling her there was a new Stine in the family (he got his gf a bunny for Valentine's Day) and is apparently moving in with said gf next month. I can't wait to meet her.
I spent an embarrassing part of the evening reading about and then calling guiding companies, before Pongo turned up. I keep edibles in the house for perhaps longer than my menfolk consider wise, but wine ought to be fine, right? We opened a half-bottle of Grgich Hills fume blanc and while it was from 2005, I was surprised at how dark the color was. It also tasted a lot heavier than I expected, although still interesting. It didn't go particularly well with salmon leftovers either. I'm not sure if it was that or being too excited about talking about the Himalayas that made it hard for me stay asleep. oops.
It was awfully nice to go skating at 9am on Mon: the rink was quieter and I got to watch an old couple ice dance -- before he went off to practice with a male instructor. So very hot. Less fun, there were two instructors for the adult group lessons, the guy I liked from Sundays and my arch-nemesis, so guess who took me for a semi-private. We were clearly the less advanced group and spent the entire half hour practice fwd and back stroking, crossovers, and at the very end, 3-turns. I've been saying all along that I can't tell the difference between what I do and what the teachers want, but by the end, I was clearly doing what the hate-y teacher likes, so yeah.
I had a surprisingly small window that afternoon to research new landline phones and call medical offices before it was time to head to Pongo's for Valentine's Day observed. He made cracktatoes and London broil. The brunello my boss bought for my party didn't turn out to be a particularly good pairing but it was alcoholic and then we watched surprisingly good porn. I made Pongo switch to a different scene when a guy who had been a jerk was about to get laid, and really, why do they always spit and do so many unsanitary things? Other than that, there was enough to get my engine revved for some really hot yeah.
I met a new instructor at Tues morning's Academy lesson and she showed me a trick for practicing 3-turns with a scarf. David complimented my forward stroking *facepalm* Met a former cow orker for lunch but the very bestest part was Julian's double-take when he saw me quietly sitting in his work lobby. MUAHAHAHAHA. After lunch, he and I went to Starbucks (first since I got laid off?!) and he brought me pig caramels and homemade truffles. I win! I dropped off my skates for sharpening, came home, and collapsed. Pongo told me if I was tired, maybe a quiet night alone at home would help and he was absolutely right. Best. Boyfriend. Evuh. I read a horrible book for a few hours and went to bed.
Weds morning I ran for the first time in 3 weeks. It was drizzly and I was unmotivated, so I went back for an extra jacket I knew I didn't need and listened to James Bond rather than my usual logistics porn. Middle 4 in 45mins, but I didn't have to ice my knee after, so that's that. Then I had breakfast with my neighbor my former coworker, who told me about her house hunt and let me talk through vacation time, regulatory requirements. Then I went to my eye appt.
I have an eye doctor I adore, but he stopped taking VSP, so I decided to try a new doc bc of the ease of getting an appt at the exact time so that I could go straight from there to therapy. Big mistake. She was half an hour late, so I had to leave. When I came back, she was annoying, asked stupid questions, and made me do the eye dilation thing without telling me how unpleasant it would be. And now I have to call VSP again bc I don't think she was right about my contact lens coverage. HATE.
My therapist tells me I need to make time for vegging. Considering I was scheduled for 8 things on Weds, she might be right. My former cow orkers went to the 'burbs to celebrate Donut Day, so instead I picked up my skates from sharpening. I punted evening skating, the tech/patent-related networking event, and a class of tying up men to... read half a relevant book and half-pack.
Thurs morning I went... skating. The Academy lesson was dull: we spent the whole time working on "tempo" in crossovers. The only good part is I realized how bad I am at back crossovers, so I practiced those after. I was very bad and signed up for a private lesson with David. WHICH WAS AWESOME. I hadn't realized how good a lesson can be. With Sloan, she teaches me random stuff. David made me start with skating around the rink with him, which was kinda cool bc there's something about pairs skating, but then he made me practice alternating crossovers, which are so not what I paid extra for. Then we practiced bunny hops; lunges; waltz jumps (I over-rotate, which is why I can't hold them forever - practice holding the end. In fact, he had me practice the jump without leaving the ground.); 2-foot and 1-foot spins from 2 swizzles; and pivots -- before putting all of the above in a little program. HOW COOL IS THAT? I get the impression that he'd been watching my lessons with Sloan and internally shaking his head at how awful they were, but wouldn't (and didn't) say anything, instead just doing a good lesson with me. It was totally worth it, even as an unemployed person.
Unfortunately, it cut into packing time, so I ran around frantically and barely made my train to NJ. It was so very nice to see GMac at the station and then we went to Gravity Vault. Good: He makes me do harder stuff than I'd do on my own and I got to tease him and talk about climbing. Bad: I feel really awful that I failed the lead climbing test that he paid for me to take, bc I couldn't make a move on the 5.9+ :( I took a leader fall that caused me to scream a bad word in a gym full of children, which was good for me in that I've never fallen like that before. Worse, he took several leader falls - the first took me off my feet and into the wall - and the last one was all my fault. I don't know why he still climbs with me after all the shit we've been through. Then Jane, Julian, and Junior turned up and I got to climb with them. Junior is a crazy good boulderer and it was fascinating to see her find her sport, to see the young woman she'll be in a few years. Then it was off to the diner for dinner and home for quiet reading before bed.
I spent an embarrassing part of the evening reading about and then calling guiding companies, before Pongo turned up. I keep edibles in the house for perhaps longer than my menfolk consider wise, but wine ought to be fine, right? We opened a half-bottle of Grgich Hills fume blanc and while it was from 2005, I was surprised at how dark the color was. It also tasted a lot heavier than I expected, although still interesting. It didn't go particularly well with salmon leftovers either. I'm not sure if it was that or being too excited about talking about the Himalayas that made it hard for me stay asleep. oops.
It was awfully nice to go skating at 9am on Mon: the rink was quieter and I got to watch an old couple ice dance -- before he went off to practice with a male instructor. So very hot. Less fun, there were two instructors for the adult group lessons, the guy I liked from Sundays and my arch-nemesis, so guess who took me for a semi-private. We were clearly the less advanced group and spent the entire half hour practice fwd and back stroking, crossovers, and at the very end, 3-turns. I've been saying all along that I can't tell the difference between what I do and what the teachers want, but by the end, I was clearly doing what the hate-y teacher likes, so yeah.
I had a surprisingly small window that afternoon to research new landline phones and call medical offices before it was time to head to Pongo's for Valentine's Day observed. He made cracktatoes and London broil. The brunello my boss bought for my party didn't turn out to be a particularly good pairing but it was alcoholic and then we watched surprisingly good porn. I made Pongo switch to a different scene when a guy who had been a jerk was about to get laid, and really, why do they always spit and do so many unsanitary things? Other than that, there was enough to get my engine revved for some really hot yeah.
I met a new instructor at Tues morning's Academy lesson and she showed me a trick for practicing 3-turns with a scarf. David complimented my forward stroking *facepalm* Met a former cow orker for lunch but the very bestest part was Julian's double-take when he saw me quietly sitting in his work lobby. MUAHAHAHAHA. After lunch, he and I went to Starbucks (first since I got laid off?!) and he brought me pig caramels and homemade truffles. I win! I dropped off my skates for sharpening, came home, and collapsed. Pongo told me if I was tired, maybe a quiet night alone at home would help and he was absolutely right. Best. Boyfriend. Evuh. I read a horrible book for a few hours and went to bed.
Weds morning I ran for the first time in 3 weeks. It was drizzly and I was unmotivated, so I went back for an extra jacket I knew I didn't need and listened to James Bond rather than my usual logistics porn. Middle 4 in 45mins, but I didn't have to ice my knee after, so that's that. Then I had breakfast with my neighbor my former coworker, who told me about her house hunt and let me talk through vacation time, regulatory requirements. Then I went to my eye appt.
I have an eye doctor I adore, but he stopped taking VSP, so I decided to try a new doc bc of the ease of getting an appt at the exact time so that I could go straight from there to therapy. Big mistake. She was half an hour late, so I had to leave. When I came back, she was annoying, asked stupid questions, and made me do the eye dilation thing without telling me how unpleasant it would be. And now I have to call VSP again bc I don't think she was right about my contact lens coverage. HATE.
My therapist tells me I need to make time for vegging. Considering I was scheduled for 8 things on Weds, she might be right. My former cow orkers went to the 'burbs to celebrate Donut Day, so instead I picked up my skates from sharpening. I punted evening skating, the tech/patent-related networking event, and a class of tying up men to... read half a relevant book and half-pack.
Thurs morning I went... skating. The Academy lesson was dull: we spent the whole time working on "tempo" in crossovers. The only good part is I realized how bad I am at back crossovers, so I practiced those after. I was very bad and signed up for a private lesson with David. WHICH WAS AWESOME. I hadn't realized how good a lesson can be. With Sloan, she teaches me random stuff. David made me start with skating around the rink with him, which was kinda cool bc there's something about pairs skating, but then he made me practice alternating crossovers, which are so not what I paid extra for. Then we practiced bunny hops; lunges; waltz jumps (I over-rotate, which is why I can't hold them forever - practice holding the end. In fact, he had me practice the jump without leaving the ground.); 2-foot and 1-foot spins from 2 swizzles; and pivots -- before putting all of the above in a little program. HOW COOL IS THAT? I get the impression that he'd been watching my lessons with Sloan and internally shaking his head at how awful they were, but wouldn't (and didn't) say anything, instead just doing a good lesson with me. It was totally worth it, even as an unemployed person.
Unfortunately, it cut into packing time, so I ran around frantically and barely made my train to NJ. It was so very nice to see GMac at the station and then we went to Gravity Vault. Good: He makes me do harder stuff than I'd do on my own and I got to tease him and talk about climbing. Bad: I feel really awful that I failed the lead climbing test that he paid for me to take, bc I couldn't make a move on the 5.9+ :( I took a leader fall that caused me to scream a bad word in a gym full of children, which was good for me in that I've never fallen like that before. Worse, he took several leader falls - the first took me off my feet and into the wall - and the last one was all my fault. I don't know why he still climbs with me after all the shit we've been through. Then Jane, Julian, and Junior turned up and I got to climb with them. Junior is a crazy good boulderer and it was fascinating to see her find her sport, to see the young woman she'll be in a few years. Then it was off to the diner for dinner and home for quiet reading before bed.