skating | A Dash of Noir

Butt Free Ice Skating

Last night, I finally, *finally* got to go ice skating!

I haven’t been in many years…at least 10 or more that I can recall, so there was no guarantee that I would a) like it and b) be able to do it. But for the past year and a bit, I’ve been wanting to try again.

Some friends and I went down to Nathan Phillips Square, where you can rent skates. Figured it made sense to try it out first and be sure I like skating before putting out money for a pair of skates that I may never use.

We arrived around 9:20PM. The rental shop closed at 10PM and had a sign listing the rental prices. Ten dollars for a pair of skates for 2hrs! They must be making quite the profit since I’ve been told that the rink tends to be almost consistently packed with people!

When I approached the window, I asked the guy behind the counter what the cost would be since they closed in 40 minutes and he said $10. I think I responded with something along the lines of “Seriously?” He shrugged and apologized and effectively said, “Yup, I have no choice in the matter…sorry.”

I almost didn’t rent a pair. $10 for half an hour!!! Ridiculous.

BUT, then I discussed it with HRH. We were there. *I* was there, finally! So close to the skates, yet so far! All I had to do was shell out the money this once and I’d know whether I should buy my own skates or not. So I eventually (after 30 seconds or so…it didn’t take much convincing! lol) thought “Screw it” and went ahead and paid the man.

I am SO glad I did! I had forgotten how much fun skating could be! Sure, I was stiff and my arms were flapping enough that I think I rose an inch or so off the ice a few times *wink*, but I enjoyed it. The footwork came back (I’m pretty sure my attempt at rollerblading a few months ago helped out) and I managed to skate around the rink a number of times at a fair speed.

You’ll notice in the pictures that I have no snow on my clothing! Thus the proof that ne’er once did I fall! No butt skating for this stiff, flappy skater! (Hmmm….those adjectives just sound weird in the that sentence….)

It was also helpful that the rink was fairly empty. I think the temperature was hovering around -20C or so, which I assume kept some people away, plus it was later at night. Night skating seems to be the way to go!

Anyway, as a result of a 40 minute go round…I am going to buy myself some skates in the next week or two! It was really fun and I can’t wait to go again!