Howitzer

As I was circling the rink today at lunch, I was thinking to myself how lazy I was today. I usually go at a faster pace, and get a bit of a sweat going. Today however, I found myself just doing sinuous S-curves on one skate at a time. At least I got practice out of working my "edges". That's balancing on one side/edge of one blade. Listening to John Mayer had an effect on me. When I skate, I wear my headphones and set some music to listen to for the hour. The music I listen to usually sets my mood. I guess something about his calming songs...

Anyway, when class rolled by, I had already spent an hour of so-so paced skating. I did mix in some bursts of speed along with my laziness, so I at least felt properly warmed up. The class was for "intermediate" skaters, which really meant they were still kind of awkward on ice. A few could skate backwards, but not confidently. It's a pretty good class. Even I, as an experienced skater, feel that I'm learning something everyday. What I learn is really how weak some of my skating fundamentals are. Specifically, how certain muscles in my legs are still underdeveloped. I might have to add some of these basic exercises into a warm-up routine of some sort when I do much lunch skates. I really like that we're doing a lot with stops. I'm pretty bad at stops, overall. I don't feel like I have talent to learn it, and I have to spend a lot of time practicing. Currently, I can do beautiful one skate stops on my right leg, where I stop while balancing on my right leg. I can barely stop with my left side, but I'm working on it. I think I'm getting a lot better.

So today, I ended up skating two hours, then playing two more hours of basketball at night. I'm pretty sure my legs are gonna kill me tomorrow. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day of noon skate :).

-Howitzer

Two things I confirmed today: 1) Riding with extra layers on at this time of the year keeps me much warmer. 2) Orange juice with "lots of pulp" is delicious. Especially when I'm sick.

I bring this up today, because an SUV honked at me for taking too long to turn at an intersection. Then he proceeded to tail me while revving his engine, and then blew past me. To be fair, as soon as I heard him honk at me, I turned and looked at him, and really took my time after that. Good thing I caught myself before getting into a street race with him. I let him speed past, all the while seething inside that he was "beating" me. Such is the reality of riding a vehicle that is one tenth the weight of everyone else.

-Howitzer

Seems like there's nothing much for me to update anymore. The last 5 or some entries have felt somewhat forced. It feels as if I have no big realizations anymore that I need to write down. I think this is a reflection of how I've found a routine here in Boston. My life is by no means complete here, but at least everything is running like well oiled gears in a machine. I've established my school schedule, a few routine things to do on the weekends, and my eating schedule. Since I know where everything is going to be, I feel like I have nothing "new" to say.

I've been riding my motorcycle daily since I got it, and I feel pretty confident on it. I try to keep an eye on myself, to catch myself if I get too lax in being aware of my surroundings. Riding a motorcycle requires more planning than driving a car does. There must always be a "way out" of every situation, because in the case of unexpected danger, you can't afford to have even a light crash. What would have been a fender bender in a car becomes you flying off your bike.

I did do something exciting recently though. Due to a family emergency, I went back to Ann Arbor this past weekend. I'll skip the family emergency, but I'll write down the other things I did. I hung out with Jess L, which was sweet since I haven't seen her since I left(I guess that's the same for everyone I saw this weekend.) On Saturday, I hung out with Nick T and Jordan, which was really cool. These guys were really warm and friendly to me, even though we didn't hang out that much while I was in Ann Arbor. They're pretty awesome people. I also got to see George briefly, as well as Oliver. The chances to see old friends seem to be fewer and farther in between, so I relish the opportunities.

I also got a chance to remember how awesome Ann Arbor is. Picture this: I come back to a picturesque fall day. The leaves are just in the midst of turning colors; I saw one tree that was red on one side, and still green on the other. The temperature was right around 60, and the skies were a cloudless, clear blue. Students, alumni, residents were filling the streets wearing glorious maize and blue. Cars were flying window flags with the block M. Motorcycle cops were riding around wearing winged helmets. I think I returned home and found heaven. Seeing all that probably constituted one of my best days this year. Sad that fall only comes once a year, and that I only get to enjoy the game day atmosphere a few days a year. If only this were Ohio State week...

A Rutgers football player was paralyzed from the neck down during a game with Army this past weekend. Also, many players sustained head injuries this week in the NFL. I find it hard to support the sport when I know that people are placed in danger of life threatening injuries for my entertainment. Breaking a leg or arm is one thing; being paralyzed, getting concussions is another.

I can just imagine this coach trying to reassure his player, "Son, the doctor's are gonna take care of you. Don't you worry." All the while, the coach knows that his player's future just disappeared. Devastating.

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