« January 2006 | Main | March 2006 »

February 23, 2006

I am a Melting Pot dessert genius

Next time you happen to be at the Melting Pot, you should have my new favorite dessert - dark chocolate, peanut butter, and oreo pieces. It's awesome. Trust me.

By the way, if you didn't know, there's one in Center City now - 1219 Filbert Street.

Posted by Janice Ryan at 10:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 20, 2006

I feel like poop

So, I took a day off of work today to (a) take my new driver's license photo (b) decide on bridesmaid dresses with my maids and (c) take a figure skating Moves in the Field test.

First, I forgot that it's a government holiday, so no DMV for me. I'll have to do it another day this week. It's horribly inconvienent, because one of my classes is finishing this week, and there's a lot of last-minute work to do.

The bridesmaid dress thing went well. That was the high point. My dearest friends gathered around me and praised my good taste in fancy dresses - no MUDs for them (Mandatory Ugly Dresses). This made me feel good.

Then, the skating test. I was stiff, because yesterday I hurt my knee trying to race Terry on the eliptical machine. I really hate that he has passed me in cardio output, so I was trying to keep up. Plus, I think I've really known for a while that something was going to happen to me, pain-wise. I have long-standing problems with my knees and shoulders, both of which have led me to really know my way around a physical therapy gym. My hip has been bothering me lately, leading me to believe that I should really start trying to strengthen my joints.

By the way, a Moves test in skating is where you do a set pattern of steps for a judge or a panel of judges, who then decide if you pass or fail. If you fail, you wait at least a month and take the test again. The level that you hold is used to determine what level you should compete at - in freestyle, it's a combo of Moves and Freestyle tests. In synchro, they just use the moves test. I don't think I'm currently subject to any restrictions, but progress is about having goals, so taking tests gives me something to work towards. I passed my first test, Pre-Bronze, last month. Today I took the Bronze test.

So, after taking both Advil and Tylenol, I get on the ice for my test, and I feel okay, but not great. The ice is really hard. I'm nervous, so I'm rushing a little. I wait for my turn to test, and I'm going through it pretty well. I actually hit the wall a little at one point because I've got so much flow that I'm running out of room for the pattern I'm doing. However, I only really sideswipe the wall, and it's quiet, and the judge isn't looking. The only point at which I feel really terrible is the last move. My legs are shaking from the effort, and I just want to stop. I get through it, but I know that it wasn't good. I didn't think it was terrible though. And since the rest of my moves are nice, I think I might get away with it.

No such luck. I need a 2.5 average, or a 12.5 total score to pass. I ended up with a 2.44 average, or 12.2 total score. I just barely missed it. The real killer is that someone I regularly practice with, who I'm confident that I can outperform, passed. We tested at the same time, so she had a different judge, who was apparently looking for something different than mine. Not that I can figure out what my judge wanted - she praises me for my flow on most of the moves, and says that my extensions are OK. But even with those comments, she gives me a minimum passing score for those components of the test, so that I fail just barely for "shallow 3-turns" and "tentative mohawks." My coach thinks that she decided she wanted to fail me, and then arranged the numbers to make it happen, regardless of the comments she made. Even so, I feel pretty bad. In retrospect, I shouldn't have gone to the gym yesterday. I should have dug up a knee brace to add a little support to my aching left side. Unfortunately, all the hindsight in the world doesn't affect the fact that I have to take the test again in two months, which means paying for it a second time, taking time off, and, worst of all, practicing the same moves for two more months. I'm really bored with them. I want to do something else. I can spend some of my time on other things, but I'm going to have to keep coming back to the same tired patterns that I've done probably thousands of times by now. Ick.

So, I feel like poop. Despite the wonderful brownie and the pretty roses that Terry brought me. Despite the pep talks from several friends. I feel like poop anyway. :(

Posted by Janice Ryan at 11:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 13, 2006

Snow scene

This was my favorite view of the snow yesterday. I took my camera with me when I went out, in case I wanted to take more pictures, but this was the only thing I felt moved to take a picture of.

I like how the chairs developed headrest bumps at the top from the collecting snow, and how it piled so nicely everywhere else.

Posted by Janice Ryan at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 3, 2006

I really, really want one

Ever since I heard that Sony is discontinuing the Aibo, I really, really want one. I've always liked them and wanted one, but I tend to forget about it for large swaths of time, because they're very expensive - the current (final) model is $2000. While that's still cheaper than owning a real dog (and allergy-free!) after the first few months or a year, that is a LOT of money and I can think of many ways to spend $2000 that might be better in the long run - paying off loans, buying a new(er) car. I'm torn.

Posted by Janice Ryan at 9:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 1, 2006

Dear School - I'm just not that into you

I'm so tired of school. I'm not interested in my classes. I hate doing homework. I hate my crazy work schedule - running out during the day and then spending time at night or on the weekends catching up. I hate not having free time and having to choose between fun and what's good for my grades. It just all sucks.

This is hopefully my last semester. I have to get Bs, but if I do, I graduate in May. Of course, being tired of school makes it a little harder to concentrate and do well in my classes...and I guess that's to be expected after nearly 3 nearly nonstop years.

11 more weeks...can I make it?

Posted by Janice Ryan at 10:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack