memae

I pre-ordered a copy on Amazon Japan and am using a forwarding service to get it home to me. Design is one of my teaching subjects so if I bring it into school and use it as a resource for a little bit, I can even claim it for my tax return. I think it's a perfect gift for someone studying costume design. I used jpn-depot for forwarding mine but I was also looking at tenso and a couple of others. Some of the forwarding services even have purchasing services as well - I didn't use one because I wasn't sure how they went about pre-ordering and I didn't want to wait to part with money to get that book. I might have also bought some other Yuzu merch because I couldn't help myself but what's a girl banned from going outside for weeks to do?

I've come pretty close to having to run out of a rink with my skates on (but for a fire alarm). There was a giant school group there in rentals too - all the kids went out on the road in the skates they were wearing (the sound was awful). All of us adult skaters sat at the entrance to take our skates off before going outside and then quickly realising our mistake - it is very scary to be surrounded by school kids running around with skates on while you are only in socks. Then we got to wait out in the rain in the middle of winter (it had been sleeting a day or so earlier) for the fire department to respond. I also have a yellow bear who has been my sidekick since childhood. Mine is a Funshine Bear, not Pooh, but she's always been there. Whenever I visit my parents, Mum tucks her in between the pillows on my bed.

Random thought: I wonder how good Yuzu is at high jump and long jump. Surely he had to do it in high school PE.

I just rewatched Origin from Saitama because I was in the mood to see that 4T-3A. I've gotten so used to Origin 2.0 that the changes surprised me. I think perhaps Origin 2.0 has a better fit, but maybe it's just been too long since I saw the first one. And that costume I've definitely gotten used to seeing him in purple with the low neck, but the details on the black costume are to die for. I often want skaters' costumes in mini-dress form - like Shoma's first SP costume from this season would be a magnificent pattern for a sweater dress - but if I ever had a replica of Origin 1 it would sit on display behind glass in the living room and I'd just stare at it all day. Now I'm excited for Satomi's book all over again. I hope one day she's able to and does an exhibit in an art museum. It would probably have to be in Japan to get the numbers but that wouldn't stop me.

I feel like SC maybe meant more to him than 4CC. He was so happy about it

lol, they know where their clicks come from

It's crazy to think that at the time, this was him doing his best and this was the best in the world and yet somehow he managed to continue to get better and better and better to the point that he is able to do Origin with 5 quads and perform Ballade like he did at 4CC. I hate to even think it, but 19-year-old Zu's skating looks a bit slow compared to now. I don't think anyone back in 2014 ever even dreamed that skating could be like what he's doing now.

I had a random thought while hanging washing yesterday about how Nathan's career, when it's looked back on, will always be tied to Yuzuru. In the same way that you can't talk about Yagudin's career without mentioning Plushenko, or Yuna without Mao, Zhenya without Alina, Brian without Brian, Nathan will always be tied to Yuzuru. But so will Patrick Chan. And Javier. And Shoma. Even Daisuke. Yuzuru really is the only one to transcend 'rivalries'. As much as he loves competing and the challenge, I think he's the only one who truly is in a league of his own. No matter about the scores but what we see when he skates. His level of skill is beyond anyone else's. Sure, Patrick had those skating skills and Nathan has those jumps and the consistency needed to make them effective, but Patrick couldn't get the jumps without impacting the skating skills and Nathan can't get the skating skills while focusing on the jumps - and when points matter, why would anyone risk losing any when they can do enough by sticking to their safe strategy even if it doesn't show what they could be capable of? I think Nathan probably can do the jumps the with transitions we'd like to see - I don't think he can always do them though, especially not all in one program. Why would he risk his consistency when what he's doing now is enough to get a WR? The only way we get to see Nathan's potential is through Yuzuru pushing him. We can't say the same for Yuzuru. I think we see him reach newer and newer levels of potential because he's chasing possibility. He wanted to land a 4lo. So he did. He wanted to do crazy jumps with ridiculous transitions because it was possible for him and he did it. That 4T-3A was possible for him, so he did it. Same with 4T-eu-3F. 3A-3A. Keeping the core components of what makes Seimei Seimei by smooshing all the jumps into about 5 seconds because of the loss of 30 seconds? He did that too. I think he probably just thought he could do it, worked on it, and then went and did it. 4A? He sees the possibility for him and so he's chasing it. Others see the possibility for him I think his ability to achieve the impossible, in so many ways, will be what is mentioned - in one way or another - in years to come when people reflect on his skating career. The names of his main competitors might get mentioned in a list, if at all, or in passing about Sochi or Worlds or TCC or whatever. I don't think any of those skaters will be able to escape mention of him when their careers are reflected upon though.

Somehow it was for him though. Hilarious considering his Olympic success rate is a stellar 100%.

She wouldn't hide. TAT would 100% own up to it. She's bold and answers to no one. (I'm really trying to say 'shameless', which is how I think of her, but not at all in a bad way - she's shameless and I think it's great - when I think of 'shameless' in a bad way I think of the likes of Lakernik, etc).

It's probably a nice time for him to be home simply because no one is out and about to be able to stalk and crowd him. He'll probably never have this chance again, the poor thing, if it apparently takes a global pandemic for him to get some peace and quiet at home.

If it wasn't asthma, it was definitely something else then. There's no way he was okay at JNats.

I'm sure I've also seen something where he said he'll sometimes eat chocolate or something as a quick way to replenish calories. Maybe while waiting for 'real' food to be ready? I used to keep pieces of chocolate in the freezer to suck on while I waited for dinner after getting home from particularly exhausting swimming training sessions as a teenager. I wonder if the alcohol allergy is actually a reaction to sulphites? I think that's a bit more common and I am also sure that Ghana chocolate, like most chocolate, contains essences (the ingredients list 'artificial flavours', so my mind goes immediately to alcohol based ones like vanilla essence). And while not much is used, not much of anything is needed for an allergic reaction which is why there are 'may contain traces of..." warnings on labels of things that might possibly have cross-contamination way back down the line.

BABIES. They are so little in those first pictures! Hard to believe Yuzu was already an Olympic champion and Nam was already competing at the senior level.

Always love some baby Nam. I still get moments of shock seeing him now vs before because like, when did he grow up? It happened so smoothly that it's a jolt to the system to look back. Same can be said for Yuzu (that Sochi baby face gets me every time, let alone his debut senior season or anything from his junior career) I guess, but I think the difference with baby Nam and man Nam is much more stark.

Guys, I actually made it home! It took so long. I'm now locked up at home for 14 days but at the very least, I did come home to my new Stick Figure Skating bag with the one of Zu sweeping up the poohs at 4CC. It's been waiting for me for a few weeks now. I'm going to use it at school next term and see if any kids cotton on. Probably not, but maybe they'll ask and then I can convert them all.

Currently downloading all the Yuzu skates I can that I haven't got yet so I have something to do on my long journey home. I've been travelling for a few months. I actually decided to go to the GPF instead of Worlds because my plans happened to line up with it better even though Montreal is a very special city to me, so I'm glad that decision ended up being the right one even though at the time I was kinda sad because I haven't been back to Montreal in years. Now I'm trying to figure out the best way directly home in the next couple of days before I get to lock myself up at home for mandatory self-isolation. Whatever my Yuzu addiction is at the moment will be nothing compared to what it's like after 14 days stuck at home watching H&L and LGC again and again and again. I will know where every last sequin on every costume is. I will be able to recite the commentary of his programs word-for-word in languages I don't even know.

Marie-France just announced that the 13 ice dance teams she has that were supposed to go to worlds are going to perform their favourite programs of the season in full costume to be filmed and aired later as a way to finish the season on a more positive note. Maybe other clubs and skaters will follow suit?

I'm not sure about the no vaccine. No vaccine deemed safe and thoroughly tested according to first-world medical research standards perhaps, but the whole world is affected and not every country has the same rules and priorities.

An article I read with information from academics who are experts at making predictions about the spread of disease like this suggested that the virus would peak in Australia around August, and I imagine Canada is probably in a similar situation, just perhaps with further delay simply because it's further away from Asia. Medical research teams everywhere are working on developing a vaccine and treatment options so we don't really know what could happen once that's figured out.

The fact that he's so popular without his own public SM is remarkable in this day and age. It's a bit surprising he hasn't been pressured into having one created and managed on his behalf by a PR team but it's clear he doesn't need it and I guess he just puts his foot down and reminds everyone he's an athlete, not a pop star.

His spins are often timed for the music too. He places them carefully to allow for what he needs them to be both physically (as in, for saving energy and breath) and choreographically. He really is the very best at what he does.

I think Anna S will probably end up with best costume simply because of the costume change and the attention it got. From memory, as much as I love Yuzuru's costumes, I think I might have voted for Shoma's original SP costume for the season. So, I don't think Yuzu is a shoo-in for the costume award (and I kind of wish that the skating community had just trolled ISU so hard over these stupid awards that Nathan wins it for his bus shirt - even he made fun of it looking like bus seats on Insta).

I think it's reasonable to expect that Zhenya showed improvements and changes in technique in training that she couldn't always maintain under the pressure of a competition. Brian even mentioned this is something that happened in a previous interview, although perhaps it was about Jason. Can't remember. We've seen it in other skaters who have changed coaches too. I've even experienced it personally in an entirely different sport. As for " if you can't do xxx jump, stop complaining" being a bad way to shut people out of discussion, I don't think that's exactly what he was saying. To me it was more like people can be very critical of what skaters are producing during performances without understanding what exactly it is that they're doing or what the process behind improving their technique is.

Lol, the description is spot on: Was going to strike through the text and make changes but too lazy.