A way to walk on water and not drown
Sep. 14th, 2013 10:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icepixieIt has been an unspeakably busy two weeks at work. A coworker was out suddenly, and I've been covering for her during an especially hectic time; website stuff has been ramping up; we had to make sweeping logistical changes to our biggest event of the year on basically no notice...let's just say I've been putting in a lot of overtime. (Even though I'm salaried, and overtime doesn't really mean anything.) I usually do a good job of leaving work at work (hell, that's one big reason I got out of academia proper), but I've been reading emails at night and thinking about work-related stuff during my off time because there's just so much going on it's impossible not to keep churning it over.
But one thing I like about skating is that there just isn't room for other thoughts when I'm doing it. I have to concentrate on each part of my body to make all but the simplest stuff work, and even with the simple stuff, proper technique is a never-ending battle requiring full concentration. Nothing can ever not be improved. So the rest of the clatter in my head gets put in a soundproof room at the bottom of the ocean from the moment I start lacing up my skates to the moment I get my rag out and start drying them off.
All of which is to say, I had an amazing class this morning. (Even though, thanks to hockey camp, it started at 8 AM on a Saturday.) I am, in fact, the only person in my class for this session, and from this I can see why private lessons are the preferred method of teaching. My technique on everything improved by leaps and bounds in just half an hour. I still have to do back crossovers the clunky way to pass my test, but they're so much more stable with just a subtle delay in the weight shift from foot to foot. My T-stops no longer make my braking foot cramp up because I'm trying so hard to stop on the wrong part of the blade, with my shoulders in the wrong position.
My instructor this time being of the USE YOUR WORDS school helped a lot with that too. She's also super perky and either completely sincere in her praise or one of the best actresses I've ever seen. She started to get apologetic for offering so many technical corrections until I mentioned that, having done dance for years, I got it and didn't take it personally. Then she was kind of like, "YES, someone who understands!" and we were off to the races. If I only get one class session where I'm the entire class, I'm glad it's with her.
Aside from technique improvements, she also started me on inside open mohawks, which are a kind of turn that changes feet and direction (forward to backward). The guy in that video is turning more than we were, as I think she's starting me out with a simplified version and he's doing the correct one. Right now, I'm basically skating forward on one foot, sticking my other foot down in fifth position, changing weight, and skating backward on the other foot. That sounds so much easier written out than it actually is to do.
After class, I went by the grocery store and bought plums and tea. Chocolate hazelnut tea, to be precise, which sounds delicious. I've had an excellent day so far, and it's only 10 AM! Now, back to writing. I'm at 62,000 words and some change on the not!drawerfic, I have clear ideas of what all the rest of the scenes in Part 2 need to do, and by god I'm going to make progress this weekend.
Subject line courtesy of this poem.
But one thing I like about skating is that there just isn't room for other thoughts when I'm doing it. I have to concentrate on each part of my body to make all but the simplest stuff work, and even with the simple stuff, proper technique is a never-ending battle requiring full concentration. Nothing can ever not be improved. So the rest of the clatter in my head gets put in a soundproof room at the bottom of the ocean from the moment I start lacing up my skates to the moment I get my rag out and start drying them off.
All of which is to say, I had an amazing class this morning. (Even though, thanks to hockey camp, it started at 8 AM on a Saturday.) I am, in fact, the only person in my class for this session, and from this I can see why private lessons are the preferred method of teaching. My technique on everything improved by leaps and bounds in just half an hour. I still have to do back crossovers the clunky way to pass my test, but they're so much more stable with just a subtle delay in the weight shift from foot to foot. My T-stops no longer make my braking foot cramp up because I'm trying so hard to stop on the wrong part of the blade, with my shoulders in the wrong position.
My instructor this time being of the USE YOUR WORDS school helped a lot with that too. She's also super perky and either completely sincere in her praise or one of the best actresses I've ever seen. She started to get apologetic for offering so many technical corrections until I mentioned that, having done dance for years, I got it and didn't take it personally. Then she was kind of like, "YES, someone who understands!" and we were off to the races. If I only get one class session where I'm the entire class, I'm glad it's with her.
Aside from technique improvements, she also started me on inside open mohawks, which are a kind of turn that changes feet and direction (forward to backward). The guy in that video is turning more than we were, as I think she's starting me out with a simplified version and he's doing the correct one. Right now, I'm basically skating forward on one foot, sticking my other foot down in fifth position, changing weight, and skating backward on the other foot. That sounds so much easier written out than it actually is to do.
After class, I went by the grocery store and bought plums and tea. Chocolate hazelnut tea, to be precise, which sounds delicious. I've had an excellent day so far, and it's only 10 AM! Now, back to writing. I'm at 62,000 words and some change on the not!drawerfic, I have clear ideas of what all the rest of the scenes in Part 2 need to do, and by god I'm going to make progress this weekend.
Subject line courtesy of this poem.
