IceWings

Step sequence from Rika's new free program "Baby, God Bless you" choreographed by Stephane Lambiel:

Skin care talk, so Brian Orser did ice shows for many years before he started coaching, and iirc he was in the ice shows with Scott Hamilton, so he was probably doing the ice shows with Boitano too. I think the incompatible hours is probably the biggest obstacle. Yuzu might not need a lot of coaching, but he likes to talk about skating with others, so I can see him having contact with TCC occasionally just to chat and get some general feedback. Unless Yuzu wants to scrap the entire season, he should be working toward Nats and Worlds as his objectives.

Yes. Miss seeing him skate sooo much! I only voted once. I didn't know you can vote multiple times. Guess I'll have to go back and vote a few more times. Lol. For the Ladies, I'm glad to see Mai on the list. Normally, I would vote for Rika, but I voted for Mai because I'm so happy to see her back on the ice, getting stronger, and recovering from her illness.

I think Gogolev is the only one who's had the opportunity to train with both Yuzu and Nate, so he's seen both of them up close on a regular basis. I don't have Alexa, so I entered "who is your favorite figure skater" in the Google search bar. Top result returned is from https://www.thetoptens.com/favorite-figure-skater-of-all-time/ : Who is the best figure skater of all time? Favorite Figure Skater of All Time Yuzuru Hanyu. I think he is one of the biggest talents in figure skating history. ... Google knows who is the super hero that can fly!

One of my roommates in college was in a sorority, and she used to go on fancy dates like that with the fraternity boys. Don't know if they still do that. ETA: Also, some fancy restaurants require you to dress up. I think this is also regional, as some locations are more formal than others.

Nathan's SP in Japan Open

Here it is on YouTube:

Someone seriously bought 11 watches!

I love how the watch changes from a lighter to a darker blue depending on the lighting and the angle. It's like the sky getting darker as the sun sets.

And if you look closely at the reflection on the glass, you can see several people in front of the store taking pictures of the store-front poster.

Some people said the watches sold out in 10 seconds. Others are saying in 5 minutes, but it sure sounds like a major click battle! ETA: In these pictures, the watch is a darker blue. The darker color is sooo pretty!! Seems like what happened was it sold out in about 9-10 seconds, but then everyone waited for 5 minutes more in case people who had the watch in their cart didn't go through with the payment.

Translation of Yuzu's message from the CM:

Yay! Always happy to get any crumbs! Thanks so much to everyone working on the Wikiquote and #YuzuSkatingParty projects. You guys are super awesome! Happy 6000 pages!!! Also, has this been posted? Yuzu as watches.

I like this final version of the watch. I didn't really care for the "pink clouds". Since it's Notte Stellata, I prefer a night sky as the background with stars, but the blue background with the clouds is fine. The "comet" flying across the sky is very cool and the diamond accent is nice too. I LOVE his signature on the back! The gold/silver/black combination for the watch is interesting. I would prefer an all gold band instead of the silver/gold band, but it's not a deal-breaker. I don't like leather bands cuz they stick to my skin and make me sweaty. I prefer metal bands cuz I wear my watch slightly loose so it slides around a little and doesn't stick to me. I hope the watch sells out quickly before I figure out a way to buy it through a proxy. ETA: That watch box is beautiful too!

Fan art contest? Yuzu is both athletic and artistic. We already had a contest for fans to show their athletic side, so maybe now they will have to demonstrate their artistic side. Hmmm, which excludes me twice cuz I'm neither athletic nor artistic.

Jason Brown New SP: Sinnerman by Nina Simone. Choreo: Rohene Ward New FP: Slaughter on 10th Avenue, Richard Rogers & New York Philharmonic Choreography: David Wilson

Confession time. I didn't really care for the Swanyu costume at first. Before I discovered Yuzu, I actually preferred the modern-looking, geometric-patterned Vera Wang type costumes and the other no frills/sparkles type costumes for the men. But I loved Notte Stellata and that costume just fits the program so well. Then later, I saw close-up pics of the costume and the details were so beautiful, and Yuzu always looked so beautiful in that costume. The thing that sold me on the frills and sparkles was the time I saw the men standing by the sideboards, waiting to enter the ice for the 6 minute warmup. All the other guys were in plain, nondescript costumes in drab shades of black, gray, brown, tan. And there was Yuzu, sparkling away, and all the other guys just faded into the background. I thought, "Yuzu, you're right. Sparkles is the way to go!" And I've never looked back since. My favorite costume is Origin 2.0. That costume makes me think of Yuzu in a midnight fairy garden surrounded by bioluminescent flowers. Runner-up is Origin 1.0. He just has this aura of dominance and power in that costume. The back of Otonal 1.0 with the criss-crossing sparkles is absolutely gorgeous when you see it live. Unfortunately, the front of the costume looks weird with it's short waist length. Of the Ballade costumes, I like Chopin 1.0 the most. I prefer the darker blues, and I love Etude too. Even Dory would look good if it was a darker blue and we cancel the yellow curtain, but I guess it wouldn't be Dory then. For Seimei, I like PC Oly Seimei the most. I discovered Yuzu watching PC Olys, and that costume always brings to mind how happy he was after his free skate. Such good memories. P.S. Even though white LGC tends to blend in with the ice, I still like it quite a bit. He looks so sharp and crisp in that costume!

You were able to find the actual fruit? I've never seen them in the local markets. I'll have to pay more attention. I love yuzu-flavored stuff. That's another item that goes under "If it wasn't for Yuzuru..." cuz I probably would not have discovered the yuzu fruit on my own. I have the Trader Joe's yuzu stuff too, along with other assorted yuzu-flavored goods from the Asian markets. They definitely pair honey with yuzu cuz I've bought yuzu-honey candy before. So that's why I haven't seen the green kiwis for a while. I thought people preferred the yellow kiwis so they stopped selling the green ones. I didn't know there were red kiwis too. I'll have to hunt down some yuzu ice cream!

Or maybe his team is monitoring him, so if they see any issues, they can react quickly.

He was wearing 2 monitors that time, when I think he normally only wears one, so you're probably right.

Yuzu regularly wears a heart monitor. At least fans assume that the small box he wears under his UA during practice is a heart monitor. I wonder if other skaters do that or it's just him because of his asthma.