Needles In the back of your head

It's been a crummy past few days filled with emergency doctor visits and needles in my head. I've had such a good run with out the mind numbing month long headaches. My last Botox shots for the headaches were in October 2011.

It's difficult to describe the panic and anxiety that commences for me when a headache starts hitting the second or third day in a row. It's doubly terrible when an ill informed and insensitive medical assistant insist that the soonest you could possibly see your neurologist is in another month. If you are one of those people who actually gets relief from narcotics, imagine what it's like for someone when they offer almost no relief for pain. A cloud of stupidness is all they can manage for me. It's not a pretty picture.

Things are improving but I am worn out. I'm hoping for a peaceful and quiet day tomorrow.

A Fabulous Surprise

My favorite coach, second only to my own, surprised me with the most thoughtful gift today. She brought back from the Odenton meet a little note and autograph from Debra Blee, my heroine. She is many years my senior and took her Gold Medal dance test last year at Regionals. I was so inspired by her.

I have 16 years left to reach that goal by the same age.

Delighted by this happy turn of events, I plunged myself into the Siesta Tango today. The corner is the hardest part and at the moment it's about the size and speed of a figure circle. It can only get better from here. And it wasn't half as scary as learning the Denver Shuffle or a 3 turn which remain my current yardsticks of terror.

Onward!

Turning the tide.

It dawned on me that this is the longest consecutive period I have been able to skate since I started almost 3 years ago. The most recent ankle injury was healed enough to barely skate on it by last May. I was still struggling pretty ferociously with it at the invitational at the end of May and mostly had it under control by Regionals.

So, 10 months. A new record. I promised Ian I would help him read the dance diagram for the Siesta Tango today at practice. I realized that I was able to not only do the Mohawk turn on the corner but I could also count the steps at the same time for him while reading holding and reading the diagram.

It's time to "man up" so to speak. I have suspected for a few weeks that my stumbling block on my figure 7 is a lack of comfort changing direction with any kind of speed. I think the key here is to get myself used to turning and moving faster. It's a bit like how I got a handle on the Mohawk turns in figure 100 by learning an inside spread eagle in both directions.

So tomorrow is the day. Imagine all the trouble and fun I can get myself into working on those turn dances! That should be as much fun as hearing the shock of a snackbar parent last week when they saw me working on the third loop test backward serpentine trace. It's pretty awful right now but the only road to better leads right through the inevitable embarrassing period of the climb to reach something way outside your current skill level.

It's going to be some serious slow going getting started. But, it can't be any less hilarious than starting the Denver Shuffle. When I learned the cross in front cross behind steps I literally would skate the whole corner of the dance at speed then come to a complete halt going into the center, do those two steps and then speed back up. The comic relief quotient had to be off the chart.

I can hardly wait for tomorrow. :)

Hallford Family Test Center

Well, we took a boatload of tests this morning at the rink.

I passed my third dance test and second loop test.

J passed his second dance, second loop and fourth figure tests.

Ian passed his first loop and second dance tests.

Miss Lily passed her second loop and fifth figure tests.

Good job, team Hallford!

Made me think of Sam Biddle

You could have knocked me over with a feather. Boy did those peacock feathers seem familiar.

I do all my own stunts

Some might recall my fateful run in with the flying plywood on the freeway on the way to the airport two years ago.

Today was apparently my second test at stunt driving. I did better this time. All passengers AND the automobile survived and were no worse for the wear.

Imagine, if you will, happily driving along through the downtown merge onto I-5 toward the airport to pick up your ILs. You are on you merry way when suddenly a car hood from two cars ahead of you suddenly detaches, sails over the car behind it and crashes onto the pavement in front of you. Imagine that your kids and your mother are also in your car. Take note of the giant green semi behind you. And add in the ramp that you are on is turning at the same time as all the rest of this insanity is actually unfolding before you.

Nobody wakes up planning for this. Except maybe actual stunt men. Maybe.

By the grace of God, the lane next to me was actually empty and I managed to simultaneously swerve around the now stationary aforementioned car hood and also not crash into the surrounding ramp or the cars in the lane on the other side of me.

Maybe it's time to quit my day job and really explore this stunt driving thing. I hear it pays pretty well.