At The Ice Rink

Since a little girl was most curious and interested in skating, Y and I made a date at the ice rink. 'Tis the season to go skating! I was supposed to watch the girl. But when I knew Lil'Missy already took four classes of inline skating, my job was made easier. Didn't matter that it would be her first time on ice. It meant she knew the basics of the movement, and her natural sense of balance would aid in transferring that knowledge while on ice.

Y had that seal for support and balance. That was the most useful to help her gain confidence on the ice as she walked along. It was the perfect anti-fall tool. With that seal, she didn't even need to hug the railings. By the end of 1.5 hours, she was brave enough to lift her hands off and walk short distances without the seal. Hurrah! Pretty good for a first-timer!

Lil'Missy was fearless. She didn't want me to hold her. Fair enough, her penguin worked. It was hilarious the way she told me to stay behind her, or watch her mother instead. Muahahahah. She waddled along quite all right. After a while, she didn't want that penguin anymore. It was heavy, and hampered her. She wanted the seal, which was lighter. She wasn't fully stable on it, but it was okay. She liked that she could also sit on it while I pushed her round and round fast. Ditched my sweater after a while. Perspiring! I wasn't too comfortable with the little girl discarding her cardigan. If she fell, scratches and friction burns from the ice are worse than those caused by landing on concrete pavements. But she promised to keep gloves on. Okay. I had to watch her extra carefully.

It was just one session on ice. I'm fairly sure that by the end of six sessions, the little tot could glide along like a pond-skater. She had this grin on her face throughout. I knew that grin. It's that love of flying through the air.

Thanks for the photos, Y!

But those rental boots were SO CRAP. The rental counter ran out of figure skates and gave us hockey skates. I could use those, but I really prefer figure skates. I do miss my SP-Teri boots and MK Phantom blades. It seemed like a lifetime ago when I skated intensively. By that I mean daily, seven days a week. Almost to date, two decades ago when I picked it up earnestly. It wasn't difficult, not with ongoing gymnastics and ballet training. There were even competitions participated in. But nothing too competitive. It was still Singapore. Then I stopped. University and life got in the way. And I was overaged. The disappointment was painful.

Occasionally I skate, but I don't train anymore. Between long periods of no skating, I would need a warm-up session before I could nail that double salchow. But I could still do it, the way I regularly do back flips easily at parkour every other day. Even though I'd like to skate, the ice rinks in Singapore aren't conducive. It wasn't conducive then, but many persisted. Moreover, I'd have to adhere to the rinks' timings; it's not ideal. Anyway. I'll be 36 soon. Not that old, but not young; I really don't know how much more I could push my body to its physical limits.