Skating in Newark

I leave tomorrow for Newark, Delaware to compete in the 2010 Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championship.

On Friday my pairs partner and I skated in an exhibition (it's like competing without judges) in Atlanta. We skated a clean long program - no falls, no mistakes. It felt so great to go out there and finally get the results we wanted after all the hard work and early morning 3 hour practices we put in.

After the program I had this sigh of relief moment, that turned into this wonderful high. The feelings that rush through you while you're skating are so fantastic... Butterflies, Anxiousness, Exhaustion, Happiness - It all depends on how you skate, but when it's good it's good.

Then the "fans", you know those people who don't know you but will willing sit in a freezing cold room, while their butts stick to the cold metal chairs, only to watch what could very well turn out to be a complete disaster. Without them, skating would be lacking something.

Anyway, to have a room full of strangers cheering you on, and clapping for you is pretty awesome. OH, it's even better when people seek you out to tell you how well you skated. It's probably not so cool if they seek you out to tell you how bad you skated. So please don't ever come up to me in the bathroom and tell me how much I sucked it up.

I'm very excited about my trip...wait, no, let me correct myself. I'm very excited about competing this coming week. I am NOT excited about driving to Atlanta tonight, losing an hour, and then the 12 hour drive to Delaware. Blah. Endless nonsense of rest areas, Wendy's, and smelly gas stations. But at least the trip back home won't be so long. I'm flying out Friday at like 6 something in the freakin' AM! Which means I have to at the airport by 5, which means I have to be up by 4!! That's insane. Don't people like to sleep? I need 7 hours of sleep every night, or I'm bitchy the next day.

This was fun, but I need to finish packing (ugh)