Back in the "412" again...again Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

Hey all, I'm back on that skating grind, making sacrifices, managing time, and all that. This last trip home topped the last one which I didn't even think was possible - but then again, I got to know and love this silly girl named Tui, who has me spinning and googly-eyed as never before...haha! I love you Tui.

  I literally can't remember a week that even came close to going by as quickly as this last one did. It was really just one big dream, I'm sure. No really, its certain. I just kinda woke up today and realized I better get my act together, only after doing some superbly stupid things. Today I discovered that it would have been good to pay attention more in physics class when I exploded Harshaan's Glass Pyrex baking dish in the sink. I had just pulled it out of the oven and tried to get ahead of the game by washing it right away...please, no comments. hahaha. That's just one example. These last few days have been just getting back into the rhythm of the days. The skating has been great though. I picked up where I left off before the break and am really excited about how my body feels, what I am discovering about it, and then the end result, how I am skating.

  The cello is also great. It was awesome to get to work with the Great Miss Diesslin again a couple times.

  I am extremely happy to be living in the apartment simply because of this little gym right next to it that I think is making a huge difference. Ever since I moved in, I have been improving steadily, I believe. Junior Trials in less than two months!!!

FINALLY, ...

HHHHHEEEEEYYYY!!! Hey so today I skated my personal best lap time for this rink!!!! That was extremely encouraging, my friends, yes it was yes it was. I enjoyed it. You know, I was moving quickly and feeling in control. Pretty sweeeet.  Practice was deadly today. K has really ratcheted up the training, I guess because we don’t have a competition for a while. Dryland was one of those jaw-droppers. It was pretty awesome. I came home and grabbed a quick shut-eye, which is a daily occurrence. I get around seven hours at night if I can get to sleep by a little before 10pm. Then I take a little over an hour nap when I get home. Yesterday, completely outlandish and unclaudstitutional, I took my American Government Final without a nap. Circumstances…  Today, all napped up, I think I did very well on my literature final. I had to get a little creative due to some recently-rare bad planning. I didn’t bring three of the novels that I was to write about in the exam from the Krueger house. Twas okay though. I wrote down a bunch of quotations in my notes and I think I pulled it off. Then I went straight to the Etiquette Dinner which was on the campus. It was an event that the skaters went to, just to learn about proper etiquette for when we get in that limelight. It was silly, but it showed good commitment to RMU, the rink where we skate. SO now I’m all done with tests and don’t have to worry about them when I come home on Friday!! Such a relief. Now a little workout, practice, dinner, and sleep.    PIU! An’ I’m out!

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Hey everybody,

  I should get an LG phone to commemorate life being good! ...but seriously, I need a new phone, ever since Mrs K. pushed me into the pool! haha! She's sneaky. Training is going well, and I love staying in the apartment and cooking my own food. I squatted 15 reps of what my max weight was last year in Cali on the tenth set to boot! That was sweet. I took my final today for American Government for which I have been fiendishly studying the last few days. I was worried I would fail but I actually did much better than I anticipated. I think I will get around an 80 so I am very happy about that. The tests are so much ridiculously harder than the lessons and I said as much on the review of the course. It was crazy. Soooo much material to cover. I had to memorize over 500pages worth of text book material. I think I pulled it out though. I feel a great weight lifted off my shoulders. Tomorrow I take the Literature final, which hopefully will be a breeze compared to the Government one. Practice has been very interesting lately - lots of creative drills to go along with the technique and speed training. Goodnight, for today, tomorrow is not far away.

First Morning at the Bachelor Pad

Last night was calmly hectic. I'll explain that paradox:
  I planned everything out great. Harshaan drove to the Krueger house with his truck and Mr. Burkholder came from next door with his van at a little after 5pm and I had everything prepared to hop into the two vehicles no problem. We drove the apartment about half an hour away, unloaded into the apartment and finished around 6. Apparently Harshaan spent two hours scrubbing the apartment clean! Looks good bro. Then, Harshaan and I did a little workout at the Gym at his apartment complex. Then we went to the store to stock me up on food for the week - that was stressful, not gonna lie. trying to stay under a budget shopping for food while hungry is more nerve-racking than skating a final for a National Championship. Lets just say, the total price is gonna be a lot lower next time. So then we went back and I had to cook something for myself. Success. Then, I baked a celebratory tart for my new room-mates - that is, I slipped it in the oven and slipped it out. That Trader Joe's Raspberry Tart is just fantastic. Then bed. Looooong day and it was a blessing to have the extra hour. This morning I made an amazing breakfast of sausage, mixed with vegetable stir fry followed by yogurt with pair and raisins. Should hold me for a while! Now, to work on this blessed day off: cello, school, and scheduling the tests for my finals in school. Oh! i also have to update my whereabouts in the drug-testing pool.
  Hopefully I can procure some photos/videos soon. My room needs a door substitute (any suggestions?) but otherwise is quite roomy!

Yeeeeess Everybody, It's 9:39pm and I'm up late! Thats because Mrs B is picking us up tomorrow morning a little later than the Kruegers nornmally take off. Mrs Krueger is somewhere far into the West with her boys crammed in the tiny Toyota Corolla, meandering dutifully along to Salt Lake City. That's it. The two cornerstones of the club that started it all are gone! Its like losing someone close to you. Somehow I can't wrap my brain around it. On the positive side of things, coach K will have his eyes on me more of the time which means more attention on my technique, which I really need as alwaaaays.
  Tonight Ryan and I cooked a mean supper for ourselves. Home alone, we made a vegetable stir-fry medley to die for and I made a spectacular ham, cheese, and stewed Collard Greens sa'mich that turned out delicious and savory - like something out of one of those Food Network shows. I may have started my own famous sandwich with this one.
  Biiiig changes are coming. i may be moving in with Harshaan and Ryan as early as Saturday. I am pumped UP(!) to train as hard as possible and as smart as possible up until Junior Trials. I am making that team! Its that time of year again, ladies and gentlemen when donations are made to Claude Gilbert through this very blog. But then again, when is it not that time of year. Seriously speaking, every dollar counts and will help me get out to Salt Lake here and there to train with faster skaters now that Johnny and Cole are gone. Thank you and have a good night. I'm bushed!