Week of November 22nd 2010: Ice Skating in Union Square

I don't know what it is about ice skating that I enjoy so much. Even though I grew up in the burbs of Los Angeles, it's just always been nostalgic for me. Maybe it's because I learned how to rollerblade before I could ride a bike without training wheels. Maybe it's because hockey was watched more avidly in my house than football. I don't know exactly but I've always loved being on the ice. So, when my friend Tim and I were thinking of things to do the Sunday after Thanksgiving and he suggested that - I knew we had a winner.

On of the things I really love about this city is that every Holiday season, they build a few ice rinks around the city - one in Union Square and one in the Financial District. I know this isn't unique to SF (heck, LA even had a pop up ice rink in Pershing Square and it hardly gets cold enough there to keep your ice cream from melting on Groundhog's Day), but they always felt so much accessible here.

So, Tim and I met up for our ice skating adventure. We bought our tickets, grabbed some coffee and waited in line to rent our skates. Eventually we got out onto the ice and as much as I love skating, I dislike crowds more. It was pretty tough to skate with the ice traffic jam that we encountered instantly. We still managed to have some fun, but I know we both would have loved it more if we weren't constantly worried about bumping into people.

Despite the fact that we hard trouble skating as much as we would have liked, it was still nice to see Tim and talk with him again. It was interesting to think that we had met up in the beginning of my new thing a week adventure and here we were touching base again. Yes, I know you should see good friends frequently but the ironic thing was that I'd also come full circle and was once again dealing with the same uncertainties that I had been a few months earlier. He may not know it, but his advice along with a few others really helped me figure things out a little bit.

I'm the kind of person that is fairly open with what I am dealing with - maybe too much and I've started to realize something about advice - when it comes to it, there are three kinds of people: there are people who may listen to you but won't really guide you. They won't give you advice - right or wrong. There are others who will try to tell you what to do or how you should be. And then there are the people who will just ask you questions. They won't tell you what to do directly but they'll ask you the questions that will help you get to your answer. That week I had a number of people who asked me the right questions at a time when the only answers that would help me were the ones I figured out myself. Tim was one of those people.

As for the ice skating - I was able to go again a couple of weeks later when it wasn't so crowded and I got to race across the slick, slippery surface and love ice skating as much as I usually do. I'd like to get out there again before the rinks go away so if anyone is interested let me know! I can give tips but I'm not sure how helpful they will be.