The Last Skating Post

We started off the morning at The Farm of Beverly Hills at L.A. Live. If only I could start off every morning with coffee and a mimosa.
R and I both had some variation of eggs benedict. It was good, but the restaurant is mighty stingy with its hollandaise sauce. R had even less than I did.
L had yummy looking french toast and fresh fruit.

I really hate this picture of me, but I left it in here anyways since it's a pic with L, R and Dorothy Hamill (squee!). That's her in the pink shirt behind us, just on the other side of the glass. We were 2 for 2 when it came to Dorothy sightings at The Farm.

After brunch we walked across the street for the Exhibition of Champions. Usually exhibitions have a tendency to be hokey, but this one was actually good. It was a shame that it wasn't televised.

U.S. ice dancers Samuelson & Bates performed a lively disco routine.

The Frech ice dance team not only continued its hooker theme with its costumes, they actually simulated sex on ice this time. I bet there was a lot of pearl clutching going on in the stands.

Tomas Verner brought the house down with a Michael Jackson routine. Who would have guessed that just a few months later Staples would be the site of MJ's memorial service?

This is one half of the Russian pairs team Kavaguti & Smirnov. He was quite popular with the ladies (and the men). The only urge I had, however, was to chop off that sad mullet.

Did you know that there is such a thing as synchronized skating?! As much of a skating fan as I am, I still think it's weird.

Here's me and R, ready to take the ice for our pairs number! This is a long running joke between us dating back to a skating charades game we all played back in '02.

Brian Joubert actually skated to music that wasn't from The Matrix! And it was wonderful!

The U.S. ice dance team of Belbin & Agosto are very obviously fans of So You Think You Can Dance. Their routine to "Bleeding Love" was clearly insipred by Mark & Chelsie's performance in season 4 of the show.

Apparently Brian Joubert loaned his music to Domnina & Shabalin. They performed to music from The Matrix. What is it with ice skaters and this piece of music?

The final curtain call. As I said before this is the final skating post .....................................................

.... at least until January 2010 when I'll be attending the U.S. National Championships in Spokane, WA! :-)

The Book Challenge: August Recap

I did a lot more reading than usual this month. Maybe all that vacation time had something to do with it. ;-)

27. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

28. Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown

29. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

30. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

31. Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison

32. The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

33. That Summer by Sarah Dessen

34. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

35. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

36. Thirteen by Candice F. Ransom

I read the last two books while I was up in S.F., visiting my parents. I have always been an avid reader, but I thought I had packed away or donated most of the books I read as a teen. It was a pleasant surprise to come across a stash of my old favorites in the guest room closet. Skating Shoes had actually been out of print for quite some time (it's being re-released this fall!) and I must have read Thirteen at least twice a year through junior high. It was interesting to see the similarity of themes in young adult fiction from twenty years ago (#35-36) to the present (#32-34). While today's stories feature a bit more sex, drugs & drinking, the underlying plots in both eras seem to focus on friendships, rivalries, body image and finding one's identity. Perhaps there is some truth to the saying, "The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same."

The Main Event

Since the main event of the week, the ladies' long program, wasn't scheduled to start until the late afternoon I spent the morning getting pampered at my usual spot. After leaving Marina's capable hands I met up with R and V for the yummiest lunch I had all week.
There should be a pic of the mixed appetizer platter here. I'm guessing we tore through it before I remembered to take a pic? Oh well. Gaze upon the beauty of my pork burger with yam fries instead.

The cinnamon water complemented our desserts well.

After fueling up for the main event we walked over to Staples. Along the way we encountered many members of Yuna Kim's fanbase. In addition to wearing matching shirts, they were passing out free South Korean flags outside the arena.

As with the men's winners, there was an outdoor public ceremony for the ice dance champions. See the dude in the black sleeveless shirt? Umm, he never looks that hot in any of his skating costumes. I mean, I really had no idea that he could look hot at all. It was a pleasant surprise for many of us.

Candace Didier of France wins the award for toughest girl ever. About ten minutes before I took this picture she had an insanely hard fall onto the ice 1/4 of the way into her program, right onto her hipbone. After lying motionless on the ice for a few moments in an arena that became dead silent, being assisted off the ice by a plethora of staff and screaming in pain for a few minutes as medical personnel examined her, she came back out and finished her program. That's pretty hardcore, especially when you consider the fact she had no shot at a medal even at her best.

This guy had a plea for resident headcase and U.S. champion Alissa Czisny.

Despite a crowd that filled Staples up to the rafters . . .

. . . Alissa held it together and had a lovely skate. Too bad she had messed up so badly in her short program. There was no digging out of the hole she had dug. Her final placement, combined with final placement of Rachel Flatt, was not enough to give the U.S. ladies three spots at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Do you know what happened the last time the U.S. could only send two ladies to the Winter Games? Tonya Harding's creepy husband decided to break out the club and take matters into their own hands to guarantee her a spot. It might be a little dangerous to be an elite female skater in these upcoming months.
It's too bad that none of the U.S. ladies in recent years have the type of consistency that the Kween had. I have to say, she also consistently looks fabulous. The color of her dress was awesome and she was perfectly accessorized down to the interlocking Cs on her handbag. It must run in the family; her older sister always looks spectacular as well. It takes a certain kind of woman to pull off wearing stilettos at an ice rink.

Of the top contenders, Mao Asada of Japan was the first to take the ice. One of the few women who can land a triple axel, she had two planned for the evening. Her first attempt was successful; the next one was not. She skated the rest of her program adequately, but a bit mechanically. While the Code of Points has helped increase the credibility of scoring in ice skating, it has also had the effect of producing a lot of performances that are skate-by-numbers. It saddens me that we may never see simple, beautiful moves anymore, like a perfect layback spin or a lengthy spread eagle, because it just doesn't offer enough points.

Miki Ando, also of Japan, skated next and with much more emotion that her teammate. A couple years ago, the Japanese skating federation all but gave up on Miki. She refused to slink away, however, and made a rousing comeback.

The cheers started to fill the arena long before Yuna Kim stepped out on the ice. The amount of flags and signage was overwhelming. There's a better pic of one of the signs, as well as an explanation as to her preferred method of address, here.

Yuna skated to Scheherazade. Why is this significant to a skating? In 2002, Michelle Kwan also skated to Scheherazade for her long program and brought down the house at Staples. I remember the crowd being on its feet with thirty seconds still to go in her music. I can only imagine what Michelle must have been thinking while watching this teen dynamo skate to what was her music, in her "house". Michelle's version of Scheherazade is one of my all-time favorite programs and I feel fortunate to have seen it live in '02; I had a difficult time not picturing Michelle's moves at certain points in the music. I know I wasn't only the skating fan with that problem.

Yuna's performance was also magical. There was no doubt who the winner would be at the conclusion of her program.

Following the magic was one of the most spectacular meltdowns of the week and really, of the last twenty years. Like Yuna, Carolina Kostner of Italy also skated to a piece of music well associated with Michelle Kwan -- The Song of the Black Swan. Michelle's black swan was triumphant and led her to a World title in 2001. Carolina's swan most definitely did not do the same. She either fell or downsized almost all of her planned triple jumps. At some points she did single jumps. Dude -- I can do single jumps! And I know my level of skating has absolutely no place at Worlds.

The final standings.

There was only one way for us to end the night: drinks, junk food and admiring the handiwork of Yuna's fans:

Candles for Annaleigh

You can read about Annaleigh here. I became "acquainted" with Brooke through her cooking blog, which popped up as a recommendation in my Google Reader one day. It wasn't until several weeks later that I realized that the blog author was also a poster on one of my favorite messageboards.

Tonight my heart is breaking for that family. It all seems so unfair. The Candles for Annaleigh campaign was started on that messageboard as a way to show support. If you can spare a moment, please send positive thoughts or prayers their way.

The Book Challenge: July Recap

22. Mommy Tracked by Whitney Gaskell

23. Fat Girl by Judith Moore

24. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

25. All I Want is Everything by Cecily von Zigesar

26. If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

I have to admit, most of these books (#23, 24 and 25) were rather depressing, covering topics such as physical & emotional abuse, sexual assault, co-dependency, etc. At times I felt as if I were reading just another case file from work. I think I need some lighthearted reads for August.

The Final Stretch

I realized this weekend that I better finish writing about my last trip before we head out on our next trip in a few weeks, otherwise I'd have no hope of ever catching up. Just two more skating posts after this one and I'm done!

Friday was a long day, starting with the ladies' short program at 8:30 am or thereabouts. With almost 50 entries, there were lots of zamboni breaks.

While some of the lower-ranked ladies skated inside, the mens' champions had a public medal ceremony just outside the arena. This feature was unique to Worlds. Judging by the crowds, the fans seemed to love it.

R and I opted to make a quick trip to Starbucks at L.A. Live and watched the festivities from across the street.Remember Brian Joubert (far right), who ended up in third place after some silly mistakes? He looked awful at the ceremony. Clearly someone had been drowning their sorrows the previous night.

When we walked back into the arena we glanced over our shoulders and had a Michelle Kwan sighting! The Kween wasn't scheduled to provide commentary until the following day, but she was there to take some notes on the top female competitors. Maybe she's trying to assess her chances for a comeback? One can only hope!!! I did feel slightly bad for some of the competitors though, since at certain points more people in our area were watching the Kween rather than whoever was on the ice.

Joining her in the booth was the legendary Dick Button. Uncle Dick has received some criticism for being too mean (he once infamously referred to a well-liked skater as a "refrigerator break" during a prime-time broadcast), but he just gets feistier and more un-PC with age. Consider him the Simon Cowell of skating commentators.

America's hopes rested on the shoulders of its reigning national champion, Alissa Czisny. Unfortunately, however, her shoulders could not handle the pressure. When she is on, she is truly an elegant, beautiful skater with unbelievable spins. But she is classified, with good reason, as a headcase. It's a shame. I hope that she is ale to straighten out her issues before the Olympic season begins.

As much as I love the sport, I know that one cannot live on skating alone. So I left the arena in the late afternoon to meet up with 10YearsTogether at the Wilshire Grand hotel. Coincidentally, that was the official hotel for all the skaters and officials.

We walked over to Chaya and got a head start on snacking while waiting for the other fab ladies (and one cool dude). If you are ever looking for a good happy hour location, Chaya would fit the bill. Much more food and several more drinks eventually made their way to the table, but I completely forgot about taking pictures once we all started talking.

Mr. Monkey took the official group picture. From left to right: Weezermonkey, 10YT, me, Insomniac, Wan and PinkObssessed.

As much as I wanted to stay, I had to tear myself away from the group and head back to Staples for the ice dance finals. As usual, the ice dance discipline provided the most interesting costumes. Roger took one look at the Israeli ice dance team during warm-ups and figured out that they were skating to Jesus Christ Superstar. Eventually the jumbotron confirmed his suspicion. The man is psychic.

The baby Italians had cute and slightly preppy outfits for their performance set to Love Story.

The French team continued to take its design inspiration from hookers. During one of the breaks I spied Frank Carroll in the next section over. Between his own accomplishments as a skater, the skaters he has coached to the most elite levels and the sheer number of years he has been entrenched in the sport, I truly hope he writes a book someday. I would snap it up in a heartbeat. With all the behind-the-scenes info he is sure to have, I'm sure it would be a scintillating read. The American teams did not disappoint. Belbin & Agosto performed passionately to Tosca. In light of the fact that they had sat out most of the season due to Ben having a major back injury, they were phenomenal. There was only one slight moment of hesitation before one of the lifts, which I probabky wouldn't have even noticed had we not been sitting so close.

Davis & White had an outstanding performance that sadly turned out to be the biggest "wuz robbed" moment of the competition. They finished just off the podium, despite the fact that they skated a difficult piece brilliantly and brought the crowd to its feet. The crowd actually booed when their scores were posted; they deserved much higher. But Meryl & Charlie, ever the class act, did not complain and instead attempted to quietly shush their booing fans while being broadcast over the jumbotron from the Kiss n' Cry area.

The final standings. The Russians were on top despite an underwhelming performance. And the Canadian team, who have been on the scene longer than Davis & White, just edged them out for third place. The more things change in ice dancing, the more things stay the same. My friend Lois was so disgusted with the judging that she boycotted the medals ceremony. I don't think she was the only one.