Slide and Glide!

That’s my ultimate desire after trying skating for the first time, but I didn’t achieve it, I just been friends with the ice.

Last Saturday I went gimmick with Litel and Jay in Mall of Asia, chilling out gimmick according to Jay. Our first stops… lunch in Cabalen an eat-all-you-can treat of Filipino, Japanese and Thai cuisine. We really savor the almost 400 pesos worth of food, we started at 12:30PM and had our desserts at 2:00PM, oh well we talked from time to time so it’s kind of our rest after eating after eating. After the lunch, we decided to walk around so we loosen a bit coz our next activity is our ultimate purpose in MOA, SKATING!!! We watched first the Japanese figure skaters with their sets of routine. It looks easy for them but it didn’t make me at ease, in fact it increased the tension inside. I wanted to backed out but where’s Mary the adventurer in there? So, still I lined up to pay for 380 pesos, giving me a skate all you want tag. Whoa! It feels like a badminton match! Then Jay excitedly led us while Litel and I were ah “Do we really have to do this?” look. After presenting our ticket we got our blue tag from the guard, we lined up for our skating shoes but we didn’t know our sizes so the man from the counter points us to the fitting area. Probably we are both excited and afraid that’s why we didn’t see the step by step procedure just beside the guard. After getting our sizes we went back again to the counter and finally we have our new shoes. Since it’s only Jay who knows how to skate, he’s instructing us from first the wearing of the skating shoes. Since our balance will depend on our feet we should be wearing our shoes properly. We should wear thick socks for good cushion. In fixing the shoelace it should be tight enough to have a good grip but not too tight for blood circulation. The first three sets or ring were like an ordinary shoes but from the 4th up, it’s like a hook were you should twist the lace. With our new shoes on, he asked us to walk around (not yet on the ice) to have a feel of the shoes and to get our balance. At first we thought even on the mat we’ll have hard time standing but we’re wrong. You wouldn’t really notice that you are walking in just that blade in the middle. There’s no problem balancing, it’s just normal…..but once you’re inside the rink. It’s a different story.

So before going in, he told us what will happen when we step on the ice…he said what the blade will do once it touches the ice is that it will melt the portion you’re standing at coz metal is hot and that portion that melts will then become water making it so slippery. So the tendency of the feet is to wobble and go to any direction but he said you can control it…just focus and get the balance, have a feel of the ice. Feeling prepared, I go in first and true enough, once I’m in I couldn’t get hold of my feet…good thing there’s a wall to hold on to but it’s too narrow, I couldn’t get a grip. I shouted! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa AYOKO NA! I can’t make it! I don’t think I would ever move from here! Next to me was Litel screaming loudly as well. And our teacher was thinking “Uh ow! They’re backing out without even trying!” Then he convinced us by letting us imagine a kid just learning to walk. It’s like that, but we should just focus and we’ll make it….hmmmmmmmm good thing I paid a lot for this so I wouldn’t just easily give up…that’s 380 pesoses and I haven’t even went around the rink. Mostly because I’m “kuripot” so I regain my composure and listen to his instruction again. So the first thing we did was to go around the rink, using the wall, just doing a baby side step. Just that for the whole round then after that the second round was still holding the wall but moving forward, and then on the third he asked us to try gliding by pushing against the wall though not really far from it still. WOW! We’re good students, we survived the 3 rounds, now I wanted to attempt crossing from the entrance to the opposite far from the wall but approaching it on the other end. Jay offered to be our some sort of wall while crossing. We’re holding on him on the one hand while the other hand is our balance support. HURRAH! We did it…then another round of gliding. This time the center is already crowded plus there’s a bubble coming from the ceiling and only the people in the center got the chance for the bubble shower…we are so far from it. We’re merely watchers of the kids having fun with the bubble shower =(.

After a long rest and probably because it’s not fun to be watchers we tried…..JARANNNN! going in the center and standing there on our own. We paused for a minute to congratulate ourselves for making it there inside the skating rink, so far away from the wall and standing with Jay holding us. HURRAH! Then that moment another set of bubble showers and gladly we are there in that moment enjoying it ourselves. It brought out the kid in me!!! According to Jay since we can now stand in the ice and we are so far from the screaming girls awhile ago..he declared that we are now friends with the ice, so being crazy girls as we are, Litel and I wave with our new friend and say “Hello ICE!”. And he also said that we can try gliding and sliding and we now have license to fall but to fall rightly, meaning stay low, bend our knees and fall forward. Two things we can do to glide and slide: first is by making a semi-circle and shifting the weight of our body to each arc and the second is by lifting the one foot and the other is pushing a bit. I thought it was easy, as all of them in the center are doing that and so I tried. Congratulations to me…BLAG!!! that’s my first fall!!! And it’s hard to go back up! But that doesn’t stop me, I tried again……BLAG again! but this time I know now how to get up and stand again. There…after four to five times of falling I gave up…we’re just acquaintance for now and some part of the ice is not yet ready to be revealed…maybe next time, when we are close enough! I’m so glad to have met the ice and I really never knew it's interesting! (and also the teacher =)!).













Ako, 3 March 2009