Wednesday 26 April 2017

Oodles of Positivity!

Hello again!

Bit of an off-beat entry today. I just wanted to talk a bit about how crazy my life has changed since just before I started this blog. Maybe it's been noticeable and maybe it hasn't, I don't know. But I can't express how positive my life has become. Less six months ago I was more or less in a funk, close to what I'd describe as depression. No, I'm not talking crazy suicidal depression. But I was generally in a crap, low mood all the time and it sucked. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was...

...Then I made changes and started pursuing things that had always held my interest and had been dreams I withheld. I started DOING. And boy has it been a strangely amazing journey. I'm getting married, which is something I didn't think I would ever do and yet here I am about to commit to spending my life with someone and I'm not at all afraid of that prospect. She has changed my life in more ways than one and I wouldn't be where I am without her. I never thought I'd get married...but its about to change my life.

Then there's my hobbies. For the longest time I've kind of coasted through life. Doing things that while they kept me entertained, didn't really make me feel whole or that kind of happy you have when you're doing something you know you love. In the last year I've significantly dropped video games from my life with very few exceptions. (I still have a computer and play them on occasion.) But I've gotten rid of almost every console I own and have yet to replace ones that have gotten wrecked due to things beyond my control. (Like a cat who hated my 3DS.) It's interesting how much happier it has made me to get away from electronics and into pursuits that make me happy.

Horses have always been a love and a part of my life that isn't going away. I do love and enjoy them but I've always felt there has been something more beyond it. There is a reason I kept track of figure skating without telling people, there's a reason I've chosen to never pursue my other dreams. Anxiety is a big part of it, but confidence was too. You get yourself in such a 'funk' and feel you're never going to get anywhere and simply settle for what you have, which in my case simply made things worse. But now that I've re-discovered my passion for skating I can't describe how much happier I am.

I'm also healthier. Sure, I still occasionally eat crap food and can be lazy on occasion. But I find I get out more now. I do more and I'm enthusiastic about doing more. No word of a lie, there was a point where going for a walk was the most boring thing on the planet to me. Now I find myself excited to get out of the house. Plus I no longer look like a vampire all the time, yay <3

Alongside taking on a hobby that has made me happy. I've also discovered new things that I didn't truly expect to enjoy. Ballet for example. I opted into it to improve my skating at the advice of a few close to me. Before, I wouldn't have been confident to do something considered so feminine or something that put me with strangers or groups of people and yet I have found that I enjoyed my lesson significantly more than I expected and that I'm looking forward to the next one. (Never once have I danced while listening to music so much as I have in the last week :D)

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that there is so much positivity in my life right now. It's been a fairly long time since I've walked around with a genuinely happy smile on my face and I can only get more excited but the rest of the year holds for me.

Hopefully this entry isn't too hard to read through, I feel I sometimes repeat myself a lot. Believe it or not I don't proof-read these blogs at all so that you get my genuine thoughts and feelings as they come out whether they make sense or not. I've really enjoyed writing this so look forward to more entries in the future!

Thanks for reading!

Ciao for now!

Sam

Sunday 23 April 2017

Skating to Ballet: Additional Lessons #1!

Hello once again!

I fiiiiinally have something new to write about, skating has unfortunately slowed down due to ice availability (At least locally) and so my skating related posting ability has been limited as well. Though that doesn't mean I haven't done any skating or anything skating related. In fact, I practiced my skating techniques in a public skating session for the first time just recently.

The company I work for puts on a free public skate for 2 hours on a Saturday every year and I decided to go and enjoy it. Not many people showed up so the ice was nice and open! There was about ten of us and I convinced myself to practice my figure skating in those two hours. I even got some compliments which made me smile. I'm never in it for the compliments, but they do feel good! Beyond that though I've been unable to get ahold of any ice time which kind of stinks!

Alas, I've had to look at alternate ways to improve my skating when I can't get ahold of the ice and through both research and the advice of friends I've found myself enrolled in Ballet. There are a lot of techniques that can be shared between the two sports and I'm told that it can help with a lot of the issues I imagine most guys have in figure skating which are posture, gracefulness and positioning. Or at least those are my struggles!

Today was my first lesson and as usual...I was nervous. Not unusual for me. Anxiety-man should be my superhero name with how nervous I get sometimes. But I made it to the lesson and I have to admit. It was both fun, interesting and informative. I really should stop being surprised at how much I enjoy doing new things. I've always wanted to try some form of dance class so this was an interesting step for me as I didn't think it'd be Ballet.

I learned plenty in the lesson and my instructor was very knowledgeable, and friendly. Which helped my nerves a lot and while I'd love to do an individual breakdown of the things I learned like I do with my skating lesson entries, for the life of me...I can't remember half the French words for all the moves just yet. I know we practiced basic Plie positions and I vaguely remember the word 'demi' used a lot when we were doing things half-way. Buuuuut alas, it was all so new and exciting that I kind of flubbed remembering all the wording. I'll make sure to include the wording and descriptions of what I did in future entries as I remember them.

Also, I move like an ox. Haha. I do hope in time these classes will help me be at least a touch more graceful.

Now, I recently had a discussion with my skating coach about skating and what makes her love skating and its nice to know that someone shares the same feeling as I do:

"I love skating. Something about it, just gliding and speed and riding the edges out of jumps. Expressing yourself through music and getting tossed around is fun. It's lonely, chaotic and full of life. A peaceful place to call home."

I couldn't have put that in better words myself. While I may not have done any crazy jumps yet or anything. I get those feelings and sentiments. There is just something deeply enjoyable about figure skating for me and seeing that answer really reinforces my choice of coach. It's one thing to find a teacher, but another to find someone who feels the same way you do about skating.

Just a bit of a tidbit in there, but thanks to my coach for being awesome!

Ciao for now!

Sam


Monday 3 April 2017

Skate Carnival - Norwich, Ontario/Summer Plans

Hello again!

So on a past Saturday I attended my local skating clubs end of year Carnival and I have to admit, it was great. It was well put together with a fair share of talented skaters and dedicated staff. It was just over an hour long and I actually saw the show twice. It was a lot of fun and Im noticing I am becoming more acclimated to the cold the more time I spend at the arena, which my fiancee loves because she likes leaving the window open all winter.

Now, my plans for summer are slowly coming together. Ive got a fair plan potentially laid out. After the wedding I intend to go into skating as often as I can as well as take a few ballet lessons mixed in between. Ive been told ballet helps a lot with body positioning, posture, gracefulness and your lines while skating which are all things I need. Im in talks with a few local places. about both. Ingersoll for ballet and cambridge/london for potential skating lessons over the course of the summer. At the time of writing this, Ive actually booked my first five ballet lessons. Ill blig about them and how it can be applied to skating as I do them.

Ive also been thinking about potwntial ice rental options through the summer and have done a fair amount of research on it. By the looks of it, moat nearby places charge 40-60 bucks an hour for casual ice which cant be booked more than 24 hours in advance. Which I can certainly work with!

Anyways, Just a short entry this time.

Ciao for now!

Sam