Tuesday, February 16, 2010
In 1988 I was 5 years old. I watched figure skating on TV with my parents while my mom explained the Battle of the Brians and Kurt Browning trying a quad. So began my love of this sport (as a spectator anyway). In 1993 I watched on TV as Canadians finished 1 and 2 in men's and 1st in pairs. At the time I told myself that one day I would be there when a Canadian stood a top the podium at Worlds. I did that in 2001.
When Vancouver was awarded the games in 2003 I was ecstatic. I believed that I would actually get the chance to see figure skating live at the Olympics. I looked forward to it. 2010 seemed so far away. Well it turns out that 2010 really was far away because in the intervening years I have had 4 different jobs, graduated from university, started a career and gotten engaged. Life is not the same as it was in 2003 (in such a good way). So when the lottery for tickets started I hemmed and hawed and in the end, didn't try for tickets. I told myself it didn't matter. I kept telling myself it didn't matter and got increasingly irritated and cynical about the Olympics.
Not all that long ago, I began to really realize how much I really did want to see the skating. I mean, I imagined such a thing as a little 5 year old. With a bit of patience and persistence (who knew Wollmeise stalking skills were transferable) I was able to get tickets, and tonight, attended the men's short program.
I wasn't sure it could possibly live up to the dreams of a five year old me but you know what, it really did. The skating was, for the most part, top notch and the atmosphere incredible. I was just about giddy the whole time and could scarcely believe I was there.
I brought my Ravelympics project of course. Progress continues.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Ravelympics: Day 3 of Competition
Megknitficent is definitely the underdog in the Sweaterboard Cross competition. She competed in 2008 but got only a third of the way through before giving up completely. With that in mind, some expected that she would attempt an easier project this year. In a risky move, she instead decided to attempt a fair isle vest. If she is successful, it will be a first for her but it's a long shot. We spoke to her recently about her chances.
"I definitely didn't perform as well as I had hoped in 2008 but to be honest, I was coming off of a challenging few months and my heart just wasn't in it. This year I have focus and committment and I'm here to win gold for Canada."
In this third day of competition she seems to be on track. She has started the bust shaping and it seems to be going well. We must remember though that she has set herself a demanding schedule so we'll have to wait and see how the competition shapes up as we get further into the Games.
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