because we don’t exactly live in a mansion (thank god, as i can hardly keep up with all the cleaning.) and there’s not enough floor space for me to practice on my skating, jeff took me to the skating rink last saturday. with jeff being jeff and turning even the most mundane events to something fun, he invited his cousins to join as well. that, after having a bit of a pizza party here at home before we left.

the good thing about skating rinks is that it’s a controlled environment. and by that, i mean the presence of rails and walls to hold on to when you’re about to face-plant yourself on the floor. let’s just say that for the entire duration of the night, i was friends with benefits with those walls. being touchy-feely and all.

yep, i was practically glued to the sides, alright!

there i was in these awesome skates making my way through like a seal on dry land. i was probably painful to watch but at the time, i didn’t care. i was (and i am) determined to learn, albeit a little too slowly. i’ll get there. it might take more time but i will. before you know it, i’ll be breezing and prancing through everyone else, cocky as fuck. doing one of those ridiculously fast spins to seal the deal and officially brand me an asshole on skates.

jeff said there’s a reason why roller skates evolved into roller blades through time. “the latter is so much easier in terms of movement and speed,” he said matter-of-factly while strutting his ass in front of me and fluidly skating backwards while i inched my way at the break-necking speed of a turtle.

you ever heard of reverse psychology? that shit applies to me all. the. time.

whenever he tells me roller skates are harder to learn, a part of my cerebral cortex lights up like crazy.

challenge accepted.

for the record, i only stacked once. and that was because i was desperate to make it to join in the group photo i forgot i was on wheels and defaulted to running on feet mode. basic instincts, you know what i mean?

something jeff said while giving me a crash course hit home, though.

“look up and go forward. if you keep looking down, you’re just gonna get scared of stacking and your fear will slow you down.”

i honestly thought that was very deep. kind of like life, and how sometimes you just need to keep putting one foot in front of you with your chin up and your hopes high.

what do you know? skating is a branch of philosophy too.

so i took his profound message to heart and tried to find my groove. a lot of times i almost did. emphasis on the word almost.

i think i know what my problem is: the moment i look up, i start comparing myself to all these really good skaters that i lose my flow. i figured i just need to work on myself first and get my foundations right. no need to see what the joneses are doing and simply focus on my own goals. my own feet.

so that’s what i did for like, two hours. going round and round the rink, stuck in a hypnotizing vortex. slowly breaking away from the security of the walls and learning to trust my strides.

i still have a long way to go but that’s alright. i’m just taking my own sweet time and enjoying myself in my own little bubble while everyone around me whizzes by.

p.s. if you’re wondering about the bandage on my hand, i just recently self-diagnosed myself with de quervain tenosynovitis. a fancy schmancy term for “mommy thumb” which can happen to new moms who have to constantly lift their growing babies by the armpits, thereby putting a lot of pressure on the thumb bit.

i have the feeling mine started with me taking raven out of her cot two weeks ago, twisting my wrist at an awkward angle while lifting all 6 kilos of her. there’s only so much the tendons on my thumb can take.

i’ve been putting up with the pain for a week now, just trying to rest my wrist at the expense of my 10-week body transformation challenge i signed up for at the gym (lol. that’s another story.) which is starting to annoy me because i’m already 1 week behind and my fats are having a party.

anyhow, enjoy the rest of the pics…

p.p.s. big thank you to bea and jury for minding my kid while the mom regressed to her childhood stage.

*raven at 4 months old