guitarist

That's what I'll have to do, I think. Hopefully it doesn't take too much time out of the lesson because they're super expensive, and she doesn't usually have any free time between students. Ugh. ...and now I'm just thinking "this is all Yuzu's fault"

So I went to the skating shop. The guy there said maybe I'm just wearing a size too large and gave me size 6 Jackson Classiques to try on. I'm not sure that's the issue. Those felt tighter, though not uncomfortably so, but I don't know what they'd feel like on the ice. I didn't buy them, I need to talk to my coach first. Then once I got home I tried my skates on and I can definitely move my feet inside, especially if I lean to the sides. Which I don't think is much of a problem as long as I don't try jumps. But I just have no idea what they're supposed to feel like, and I'm not sure the guy at the shop was exactly an expert (he looked about my age). Maybe I'm just putting my current skates on wrong. This is so confusing... Maybe I should just go again when the owner's there... In any case, I'm enough of a beginner that I don't think it really matters. Probably. Though I also can't tell if the pain is normal or if it comes from the skates. It's not always there, but it's gotten more noticeable the past 3 sessions or so. Ugh, who knows.

Yeah, I think I'll ask my coach. Hmmm, well, I don't think the Artiste are meant for single jumps, unless you're relatively small for an adult (I am...). One girl was saying that her feet hurt when she used those for jumping because the support isn't as good, so she switched to the Freestyle. Same thing happened to me when I tightened them too much, though, as a matter of fact, my left leg's been annoying me all day because of it. Hopefully it's fine by next weekend...

I was talking to some of the other regulars at the rink yesterday, which got me thinking about boot fit. Apparently the boot is supposed to fit tightly and your ankle should not be able to move much. My ankle doesn't move to the sides very much, if at all, but I can move it forward/backward quite a bit, and there's a visible gap between my ankle and the tongue. Maybe 2-3 cm or so, and a bit more when I do stuff like spread eagles. Is that ok? Or should it be tighter? Maybe I should get new skates. I'm using the Jackson Artiste right now, and I'm still doing pretty basic stuff (backward crossovers, 3-turns, bunny hops), so it wouldn't be an upgrade based on skill level, but rather fit. According to another skater, Riedells are better for narrow ankles. What do you guys think? I'll ask my coach next weekend, but I'm thinking of going to the skate shop to see my options. They carry Jackson, Riedell, and Edea. Or maybe I'm enough of a beginner that it doesn't really matter. Not sure...

Well, I think we can safely assume that Brian's hair is toast anyway. But I agree that Nessie is probably not ready yet. Even with the 3A being his best jump, 4.5 rotations cannot be easy on the ankles... Or any body part, really...

Unsure. My translation of that sentence: But if he's healed... we hope for/expect a successful 4A next season. In competition, of course. The problem is that I'm not all that familiar with nuances of the language, so I'm not sure if it's more of a "we hope" or "we expect." It does say next season, though, so either way it's a ridiculous expectation.

Bad financial decisions. That and I sold my soul to an investment bank.

With all that's being said, I kind of feel bad for Nathan. And also not because 18 is old enough to make your own decisions. Then again, my experience since I came to the US has taught me that several kids with tiger parents are afraid to stand up to them for fear of bringing shame to the family or even being disowned. I don't know Nathan's situation, but for the same reason I can't just say it would've been easy for him to just ignore them and go with Raf's advice. Hopefully they will learn from their mistakes... That said, while I understand Raf is not in an easy situation, that interview did not make me like him any more. It does seem like he's trying to save face while pushing the blame on everyone but himself. Class act, Raf, class act...

My heart just shattered

Not quite. I'm working on it, went from 20 cm around 6 months ago to 2-3 cm away on one side. And being an idiot I didn't work on the other side, so that one's still 15-20 LOL, I'm terrible at falling, and I'm always so scared to do anything new unless I'm close to the boards. Which is silly because I'm more likely to injure myself there, where my head might hit the boards. But I figure that's more of a mental block...

I'm flexible in odd ways, so turnout is easy, but my back and shoulders aren't even slightly flexible, so there go my chances of ever getting a Biellman. But other than that it could be a lot worse... My coach, on Sunday: "Oh, you're surprisingly flexible!" Me: Her, a moment later: "...for an adult"

Ahhh, I'm so jealous, I feel like I'm an eternity away from actual jumps. I finally managed to do a full rotation off ice while jumping on one foot, but I'd have to be insane to try it on the ice given my poor control of back edges... And my "spins" are still pathetically slow. And still only 5-6 rotations. Ugh. But I can do a pretty decent inside spread eagle, so I've got that going for me...

Yeah, I couldn't stand more than a few min, but I found it hilarious how they're discussing how beautiful and photogenic they all are

Hahahaha glad you liked it!

Oops, sorry about that hahaha. Yes, that's from the Secret Santa. I was originally going to send you the drawing I made, but USPS does not cooperate with my regular working hours, so I decided to get that instead, and since I ordered it a while ago I'd forgotten until I got a text from DHL today. I was gonna message you, but I actually scheduled the delivery for next week, so I hadn't gotten around to it. Good job DHL Anyway, I hope you like it! I'll also scan the drawing for you at some point!

Yep! All of those are the current world records.

Same. The 4-quad layout without a 4Lo means the BV is too low because he's forced to do a 3Lo. Unless he backloads all the quads, and even then it's still on the low side. Yuzu will never go for that. I'm pretty sure he's going with either the H&L or 5-quad layout.

I love this idea as well! I'd love to contribute in any way I can The coaches deserve more love, and they don't get enough recognition. Plus the FS world wouldn't be the same without Brian jumping along with Yuzu and sassing reporters who underestimate Yuzu

I wonder if Javi's seen them Now there's an idea

So the dreaded YouTube spiral led me to... the most wonderfully bizarre LP by Brian, from 1877 Worlds. I think I died, it's hilarious His hair is the size of his head, and the beginning music was so... 80s. And then, Aranjuez out of nowhere And then I watched a video from the early 80s. I think he was cosplaying Tinkerbell. Questionable music choices aside, I think he pulled it off For anyone who hasn't seen it before: Oh, Brian. I wonder what he thinks now, if/when he watches his old videos.

I think the second one. I'm assuming the first was a mistranslation.

I'm sorryyyy Yeah, that's what I have to do during lunch today. I can't believe it's next week. A year ago, I thought job interviews were the most nerve-wracking thing ever. I was wrong. This is it.

Ahhhh, don't say that, that is #2 in the list of "worst case scenarios" I came up with (because I figured thinking of the worst thing that could happen would make anything else seem positive in comparison. All I did was stress myself out, though...). And #1 is so horrible I'm not even gonna say it.

My posture on the ice, and off the ice is crap... I spend most of my time on a computer at work or playing guitar/piano, so you can imagine why my posture isn't exactly that of a ballerina... Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it), my coach IS a former ballerina. So she keeps giving me crap about my posture. Now, it's a little bit like teaching a cactus how to dance (actually, I think that's exactly what it is), but my posture off the ice has improved, so that's something

I don't know if there's anything else, but all this article mentions is that the 2018 picture is the first time he's been in that rink for 2 years (Idk what the name of it is, the katakana says iyotetsu center, no idea what the romanization for should be), and that he grew 16 cm since then. And a cute little "The Koshiro smile didn't change." Wish we had updates on him, he's adorable and I really loved his StSq during this year's JGP.