ok, here is a funny one. While away at a competition, Becky, Alexe and myself had done a little shopping and needed to drop off the bags. Alexe's room was the nearest so we thought we would put them in there. Alexe put the plastic card key in a few times with no luck. I then tried my luck, gave it a rub or two on my shirt to maybe create static, and no luck. Becky then tried her luck with the key and once again, nothing.  We decided to go downstairs and have the front desk give us another key since the one we were using didn't work. Alexe proceeded to han dit to the clerk and upon seeing the key, the clerk said"this key is not for our hotel, it is for another hotel". Alexe looked at it and sure enough, it was her key from the hotel she stayed in the week before. hah, what goofballs we were. 

The practice rinks at the Italian Nationals were interesting to say the least.  One of them was in a town called Zanica and it was very cold but a great rink.  The other one was Paul's new home club in Milan.  It is a great facility and if you get the chance to skate while in Milan, try to hit the Datch Forum rink. We ate amazing food the hwole week but when we got there, I might have had the greatest calzone in the world.  It had paper thin crust and was full of goodness.  The server suggested I pour on some of the local olive oil on it and it was an amazing addition to an already fantastic clalzone.  

Paul was lucky enough to skate after Samuel Contesti (currently 5th in the world) for both his short and long.  He was very mentally prepared and took the moment to really perform.  A good skate in the short and long got him 4th in Italy with a chance to go to Jr. Worlds.  We will see. 

The plane ride from Denver to Frankfurt was extraordinarily long. Like 10 hours at least. Maybe got 1 hour worth of sleep. Not enough to write home about. The flight from Frankfurt to Verona was potentially the prettiest because the Alps are so beautiful in the winter. \
The drive from Verona was painless. We had dinner at a pizza joint called La Vie I believe. I had an incredible calzone unlike any calzone you typically get in the states. It was super light and crispy. I could have one of those every day for the rest of my life. Today, we had a practice and did an off-ice. More practice tomorrow then Paul competes on sat and sunday. More to come.

Paul and I are on our way to Brescia, Italy for the Italian Nationals.  The trip starts to denver then to Frankfurt, then to Verona.  Once in Verona, we will drive to Brescia which is about 45 min from Verona Airport.  I will be posting more as the trip goes on.  It should be an exciting week. 

yesterday, the skating and Colorado community lost a dear friend, Haley Rose Gans.  Haley was a kind, loving, compassionate friend and she will be missed dearly.  Her love for sport and life is a reminder that we need to embrace the present and live it up.  Haley, you will live eternally in our hearts and minds. 

so what is the number reason everyone pops?  Is it because they were distracted, not focused, or not feeling well?  While many would argue every excuse in the book, the real reason we pop is because we are not COMMITTED.

Let's say your program is set and is competition ready.  When a program is set, that means all the elements in the program are elements you can do let's say at least 70% of the time.  Realistically they are elements you should be able to do at the drop of a hat, at any given moment.  So, if your program is full of elements you can do with no problem, then why do we pop? 

Because you are not totally committed. 

Turkey  is an amazing full of rich culture and history.  Our trip there was for the junior grand prix event in Istanbul.  The hotel accomodations were fantaastic and we were a 10 minute walk to a little mall which had a great place to eat typical turkish fare.  The pizza was more lke a tortilla that had a tomotao and onion spread and a huge bed of lettuce and lemon on the side.  It was delicious. 

On the way to the rink we drove by the sea of Mamar I believe and it was truly majestic.  Ships were everywhere and were in line to go through  the Bosphorous.  We went through a wall that was supposedly the original wall from like year 200 ad.  IT was incredible to see and within the walls was the rink.  It was brand new and I belive just finished when we got there, literally.  There were exposed outlets the first day.  The standsd were made of granite with little seats on them.  It isn't too often you see a rink with marble and granite everywhere. One funny experience we had was when we left the rink on the way to the team dinner.

Our bus we were in was a little higher than normal and we got stuck going out through the wall.  The bus driver instructed all the passengers to go to the back of the bus to weight it down.  The plan worked and we were able to get through the exit.   Even a bus full of Americans couldn't take that wall down.  Hah. 

The team dinner was in a little area between the rink and the blue mosque.  It consisted of about 20 restaurants that resembeled the French Quarter in New Orleans. Restaurant after restaurant serving similar items and all amazing.  The server brought out 5 different dishes before the main course ranging from veggies in olive oil to couscous to salad.  All amazing and delicious.  I had a sea bass that was served whole for my main entree and it was fantastic. 

The sites around Istanbul hold amazing value not only for their beauty and symbolism, but because of purely how long they have been around.  There are buildings dating all the way back from 200 AD and after.  More to come soon.

What motivates you to skate and train everyday?  Is it competition? Is it a new jump?  Tell your true motivation.

It comes around. 

A student of mine came in to our rink wearing one of the most interesting jackets I had ever seen.  She was from out of town, like many of the people at my work, and I was instantly fond of her jacket.  The jacket has unique markings and is a classic for sure.  I complimented her nearly every day and one day I had a surprise from her.  It was a jacket just like hers and I was totally amazed. 

You see, this is no ordinary jacket.  In order to have a jacket like this, you have to be a part of one our countries most prestigious ski schools.  Luckily her father is an instructor and what do you know, I got lucky. 

I wore my jacket everyday.  To work, during work, heck, I even wore it home.  One evening I accidentally left the jacket on a chair as it was late in the day and I was ready to go home.  I truly forgot I had left it on the chair.  I came into work the next day and was totally upset not knowing where my jacket was.  I of course told the proper authorities and was on a search.  I did let my colleagues know as well that it must have been misplaced.  I gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and held only myself accountable.  I checked lost and found daily, even three times a day.  I had to stay positive, keep lookin' and figured, it'll come around

So I was at work in the late afternoon about a month after my jacket had gone missing.  One of my colleagues was frantically running to me and was banging on the glass, which was very odd.  She pointed to a gentleman wearing a jacket like mine.  I thought, noway could this be happening so I went over to check it out and sure enough, there it was.  As I went to the authority in the building, two adults came to me and said the same thing, that guy is wearing your jacket.  I was absolutely floored and elated.  Soon after, I was able to get my jacket back.  I couldn't believe my jacket appeared in such a bizarre fashion.  I certainly let the person wearing my jacket know that I would give him a jacket if he needed but that I wanted mine back.  You might ask, how did you know it was yours?  Well, I knew the markings and one of them was extremely obvious.    These jackets were a part of a ski school and they had special marking inside.  What are the odds that this amazing gift would be found in such a bizarre way.

I washed the jacket and it occupies my back everyday at work. 

It just goes to show you that if you are persistent and positive, it comes around

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