In demand
There are certainly lots of ways I can stay involved with skating once I take some time off. I've agreed to post occasional updates to our FSC website, which actually shouldn't take much time, but my first task is to get the site back UP -- apparently, the hosting company's last invoice was overlooked, and they deactivated it! :p There are also two local competitions coming up in January -- a Basic Skills competition at my rink, which I've been asked to work at, and the Star of Texas Adult Open in southwest Houston -- I'm hoping that 
tresk8saz will be able to participate if everything comes into alignment for her.
With the surgery on December 14, I won't be participating in (or even attending) our December 15 in-house ISI "Holiday ShowSkate" competition, but I did spend an entire day compiling music for participants to use for their programs. I combed through all 24 (!) of my Christmas/Yuletide CDs and chose about 15 nice skatable arrangements of mostly contemporary/secular songs. Two of my favorites are Clay Aiken's "Winter Wonderland," which I have in mind for Cathy and her partner (he's a ballroom dancer) -- they plan to do an exhibition -- and a Billy Gilman/Charlotte Church "Sleigh Ride" duet, which would be adorable for Cathy's daughter and her partner (another little girl). If I had skated myself, I would have used In Dir Ist Freude, a bright baroque carol set by Bach to the Italian tune A Lieta Vita. (I LOVE early music!)
I will also probably go back to singing. (Ironically, I took up skating during a doctor-recommended break from singing!) The vocal fatigue I had early this year has long since passed, and I've missed it. At this point, I've sung in most of the professional/independent groups in town, and I'm just going to admit to myself that I prefer sacred choral renaissance-type anthems, which means that I will probably accept an invitation to join the choir of St. Martin's, my sister's church, and probably become a cantor at some point. I have been looking for a new church, and I have been visiting (and singing) there lately -- I really like it. It's better to love what I do than to sing with a higher-profile group that doesn't focus on the genres I love most. I've grown up, and I'm over the need for prestige at the expense of enjoyment.
tresk8saz will be able to participate if everything comes into alignment for her.
With the surgery on December 14, I won't be participating in (or even attending) our December 15 in-house ISI "Holiday ShowSkate" competition, but I did spend an entire day compiling music for participants to use for their programs. I combed through all 24 (!) of my Christmas/Yuletide CDs and chose about 15 nice skatable arrangements of mostly contemporary/secular songs. Two of my favorites are Clay Aiken's "Winter Wonderland," which I have in mind for Cathy and her partner (he's a ballroom dancer) -- they plan to do an exhibition -- and a Billy Gilman/Charlotte Church "Sleigh Ride" duet, which would be adorable for Cathy's daughter and her partner (another little girl). If I had skated myself, I would have used In Dir Ist Freude, a bright baroque carol set by Bach to the Italian tune A Lieta Vita. (I LOVE early music!)
I will also probably go back to singing. (Ironically, I took up skating during a doctor-recommended break from singing!) The vocal fatigue I had early this year has long since passed, and I've missed it. At this point, I've sung in most of the professional/independent groups in town, and I'm just going to admit to myself that I prefer sacred choral renaissance-type anthems, which means that I will probably accept an invitation to join the choir of St. Martin's, my sister's church, and probably become a cantor at some point. I have been looking for a new church, and I have been visiting (and singing) there lately -- I really like it. It's better to love what I do than to sing with a higher-profile group that doesn't focus on the genres I love most. I've grown up, and I'm over the need for prestige at the expense of enjoyment.