Summer Goal Number ONE!!

Always the overachiever, I've decided that I have a HUGE list of goals to accomplish over the summer break (not to be mentioned here until I actually accomplish them). On DAY NUMBER ONE of summer break (the weekend didn't count, since it was the Saturday and Sunday after the last week of school), I accomplished my first goal...I learned to roller blade!!

...not that knitting and collecting cookbooks aren't COOL in their own right, but I wanted to find a hobby that was a little less "Laura Ingalls Wilder", and more "wild" (I guess hitting, and surpassing, 40 does that to you!).

My friend Pat, at school, is an ACCOMPLISHED roller blader, and I asked if she'd teach me. She was MORE THAN HAPPY to oblige, and we chose TODAY for the first lesson (so that we can refine my skills during the summer).

So...after finding a fairly nice pair of roller blades at Goodwill a few weeks ago (for only $7.00!), and an EMBARRASSING trip to Sports Authority (a sporting goods store...don't ask for details...it's a store that sells sports equipment...I was TOTALLY lost the entire time I was there), and some MUCH needed assistance from a kind lesbian who worked there (Do YOU know how to put on those "wrist protector" things that "newbie" roller bladers wear?), we went to a trail that Pat skates, and the lesson began!

After a "starter" session on how to put the freakin' skates on (how many straps and buckles does one pair of footwear requre, anyway??!!), and a hearty "good luck" from a bicyclist who was there for the first "stand" on the skates (and witnessed my terrified gay shrieks as I tried to get up off the bench), we started down the path.

I'd like to say that I'm a "natural", but the HUGE grass stain across the back of my shorts will attest to the fact that I'm NOT (in case you are ever in the same situation, here's a lesson that I learned...if you are going down a hill, faster than you are comfortable with, and you are weighing "exit strategies" in your head as to how to slow down, skating into the grass on the side of the pavement is NOT, generally, a good idea...the grass stops your wheels IMMEDIATELY, and you fall...either face first, or, in my case, sliding on your BUTT for awhile, until you eventually stop).

LUCKILY, there is NO photographic evidence of today's adventures, and Pat was MORE than gracious about my "technique" (how stylish IS IT to shuffle along like a 90 year old man?). Even "luckier"...I have "dirt" on her as well, so SHE'LL NEVER TELL...!

I think I did fairly well, and, bruises and sore muscles aside, want to try it again...which is good because, after finishing, Pat scheduled our next lesson for this Sunday. I'm hoping to be able to walk again by then...oy!

Hope YOU have some fun and exciting goals to accomplish this summer!