Skip to main content

Skating Tricks - Pandemic

So it's big a long while since I've posted here. It's just not as fun since I left LiveJournal. A lot of it has to do with the theme options on Blogger, which are next to none and pretty horrible. I simply don't enjoy looking at my own page.

It's been such a long time that a whole pandemic has happened. Once in a century there's a big pandemic, and 2020 is the year my generation got it. Everyone got it, technically, but economically, my generation has been hit the hardest. We graduated during the recession and then we lost all our jobs and businesses because of a super rare pandemic right as we were getting our feet on the ground and making roots. I luckily still have work, but it's with WSU and the Master Gardener program and not with Luci Creative, who I really wanted.

During the beginning of the pandemic, before I started work at WSU, I was really enjoying my free time and making the most out of it (I can't say the same for a lot of other people). I was poling a lot, taking a lot of virtual classes, made myself a whip... I was busy and having a good ole time given the circumstances. Now that I'm working, I'm not really enjoying my time. The best hours of the day are spent shoved up in my bedroom because Kingsley is usually over or my parents are doing some project (or I'm leading a meeting), so I don't get to see or experience any of the nice weather. By the time I'm done with work (which might be as late as 8pm because of the 2 hour time difference), the weather has usually turned south or I'm still wired from work. And since everything is closed and all the things to do are during the daytime hours, I've got nothing to do in the evenings. I feel like all I'm doing is working now and just for the sake of working. I can't even enjoy my introverted free time during this pandemic.

Anyway, one thing I've been working on a lot since this all went down is my inline skating. Ellen from Roll Train started doing Thursday night classes (sometimes Saturdays, too, but rarely), and I'm thoroughly enjoying those. I've also been doing a lot of exploring on YouTube, looking up tricks and tips for rollerblades. I still can't stop at fast speeds, but today I learned that you can do wide slalom skating downhill to decrease your speed both forwards and backwards; and that was really cool to learn.

Some other things I've taught myself how to do:

Forward and backward Gazelles (forward are my favorite, and my right turn is a little sloppy)


Compass spins


Boomerang with spin. In fact...


I made a tutorial on this move because I liked it so much!


I've also gotten better at jumping, going down small drops, regular slaloms, and balancing on both my toes and both heels. AND I took my brake off permanently (mostly because it was worn out), which is a big thing for me! So scary!

Other things I've been working on that I don't quite have yet:
  • Power slides
  • Lemons
  • Spins on both toes or both heels
  • Snake walk
  • One-legged 180s
    Cross-overs
  • Skating in a line/carving
I wish the skate park was open because I want to get better at some things but can't without the right space. I'd also like to try going in the bowl again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rocket scripts and ballet sets

 On my way home from painting scenery for the Orlando Opera showing of Macbeth and sets for the Orlando ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet with Amanda. I meant Amanda painting haunted houses with Mikayla, and then the three of us went kayaking, along with her friend Matt and the guy she was dating at the time.  Having the opportunity to paint sets and shows has been such a soul opener and a game changer. I'm doing things I really enjoy doing and have been wanting to do for years, if not a decade at this point. With people I really enjoy and who make me feel happy. It feels low stress but high reward. I hope the doors continue to open and I'm able to keep doing this.  Separately, at work today I wrote a new script for the silly little new rocket launch videos in the courtyard by the gift shop, and my boss approved it on the first draft. She said it was really good. This felt like a win even though it was so small (it was only one page) because I struggled with it. It's...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking around NASA

It was a slow start to a Monday, a slow start to the week. Productive, but chugga chugga... I don't feel like I did anything.  Except maybe cook. Last night I used up the rest of the pureed pumpkin I had and made a ground Italian sausage vodka sauce with browned sage and gnocchi. It was really tasty and filled me up for literally the entire day. It's the only thing I ate, save for some strawberries, grapes, and cantaloupe (half of which I cup up last night and the other half I cut up tonight) during lunch, solely because I was craving sweets, and some cheese and crackers right before lyra class because I felt like I should put something more in my body. The pumpkin vodka dish was probably 1,000+ calories just on it's own, so I should probably watch it tomorrow, but it's got a really strong balance of 1/3 protein (Italian sausage), 1/3 fiber (pumpkin), and 1/3 carbs (gnocchi). That's probably why I'm still so full, and it's after midnight.  After lyra class, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

First January in Orlando

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. For some reason, Blogger (a totally dead platform at this point) gives me “Let’s Go Ride a Bike” vibes - in a good way. Which, by the way, I just Googled and they haven’t touched their blog since 2015. What a shame. I really miss the days of blogs.  Most of my writing has been done in a physical notebook, which in many ways I prefer; but in others, it doesn’t quite quench the thirst. One of the things I love about digital journaling is being able to add images and photos (like the one below). While physical journaling feels more intimate and perhaps, authentic in some ways, digital journaling feels more like a creating a story. Two different methods for two different outcomes.  So why the photo of a plant? Well, first, this is a Monstera plant. I’ve loved it’s lines and the holes in its leaves for years, but I never learned its name because it’s not a native plant to Wisconsin. They are to Florida, however, and are super easy to fin...
Post a Comment
Read more