Let's Celebrate, It's All Right!

Just as I was laying down to get some sleep my bed collapsed. They had been on risers and, so, I came crashing down (as did Yuka pug!) right along with the bed. It was interesting to say the least.

Today I reorganized my room a bit.. moved some of the smaller furnature and I'm sure Judy won't approve as I've wanted to do this since forever, but oh well. She ticked me off again today so I feel justified in my decision.


I love how with the GPF the people on Golden Skate are counting Evan out. Ok, since when has bubba really made an announcement that he is the one to beat early in the season? Yeah, he's gotten dinged big time this year and yes his programs could be better (Yagudin programs just don't look good on him) but Bradley beating Evan? That'll be the day.

Unless Evan tanks like Johnny in Spokane. But just based on if both skate their best, I don't think so. But whatever. At this point I honestly don't care lol I will be in Disney World when it all goes down and I won't even know about it all until I get home... unless someone calls with updates (I don't have text messaging! *Cries*) lol

Haille Rae and her parents are coming for dinner tomorrow. yay! :)

TTFN

... Ben Porn shot! hee hee.

I'd just like NBC Universal to NOT use any of their normal color commentators for figure skating this next Olympics. They're incompetant, they don't even PRETEND to appreciate the sport, and they just aren't needed... especially since NBC crams five bazillion experts in the booth.


The show was so cheesey, and did we ever find out who Italian Ice was? I can't remember lol

...it's being talked about on all of the skating boards and egroups. Dewey Browning's battle with male breast cancer is over. I guess CBC did a little blurb at the end of their broadcast. He was such a figure head in Canadian/Men's skating not just as "Kurt's Dad" but as someone who genuinely cared about the sport his son participated in. Both Neva and Dewey were committed to Kurt's endeavors but also strived to raise him to be more than just a jock, and he's taken those lessons to heart. The world needs more like them, and sadly we've had to lose them.

I don't know where I'm going with this, so I'll stop before I seem completely looney. My prayers are with Kurt and the entire Browning family tonight as they mourn the loss of their father & grandfather. You'll be missed, Dewey!

Keegan Messing - Anchorage, Alaska figure skater! - won the Pacific Coast Sectionals today! I am so excited for him! I seriously let out a fangirl squeal and bounced on my bed! I am so happy that he pulled it out. He got a decent score, I think, I honestly don't follow Juniors all that much. Aside from Keegan I guess I could care less lol which is sad, but it's just hard to keep up with everything all the time!

So proud of him! *bounces*

FPl. Name Points SP FS
1 Keegan Messing
Anchorage FSC 176.50 3 1
2 Austin Kanallakan
Los Angeles FSC 161.29 1 2
3 Andrew Gonzales
All Year FSC 154.93 2 3
4 David Wang
All Year FSC 138.64 8 4
5 John Lomazzi
Peninsula SC 134.70 6 5
6 Grisha Fournier
All Year FSC 127.78 5 6
7 Sean Rabbitt
Glacier Falls FSC 127.52 4 8
8 Stanislav Samohin
Los Angeles FSC 125.54 7 7
9 Dan Dang
Portland ISC 111.45 9 9

These Disson shows are about as lame as the Starskate Specials.

Hey! Lang and Tchernyshev skated in this??? lol

Shae Lynn is a one trick pony, she really doesn't offer anything new. She does the 'look I'm a sexy single ice dancer' every stupid show... and the choreography is so stupidly generic. It's frustrating. It was cool for a couple seasons now it's just blah.

All of these programs are just thrown together and the skaters that skate them aren't personable enough (with exceptions) to really make it work. It just doesn't fit as well.

I'm griping, and I know it, but really... it just seems this newest generation of pros (if that's what they are) don't have the same outlook on what they're doing out there. The committment is differnt. Though Naomi and Peter are skating right now and proving me wrong...

I don't know. There are some good shows out there, but considering they're all the same skaters and it's the same choreographer, and the music is so slow and dated that there's no excitement anymore.

I want SOI to come back and do their show - not an infomercial - and I want backstage fun as well as the skating - and I want something like Too Hot To Skate again where it's a PARTY out there. And the skaters seem to like each other and it's not geriatric live performances.

I want the golden era back - which I know is next to impossible these days - but I want some fun and life brought back to skating.

And, no, I don't blame the CoP for it - these skaters were BEFORE the NJS.

Finally a video on Youtube of his skating this season! It's from the J. Curry Memorial. It looks like he kept his LP from last year, but got a new (better) costume!



I LOVE that he starts his program with the 20th Century Fox theme.

Why use Tarasova? Why Bolero? AND WHY that costume????

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Evan, dear, I love you, but WHY?

( vid clip )

I haven't found his LP yet, and I'm afraid to look just based on teh whining going on on Golden Skate.

not that I enjoy the Evan hate over there anyway. Double standards abound when it comes to Johnny fans vs Evan fans and vice versa. And before you go "well, Toni..." I know I'm guilty of it, but lately I've been defending Johnny... both "men" suffer from foot in mouth disease, and both have massive room for improvement in certain areas... both bring a lot of good into this sport....

...well... did... till Evan got Tarasovized (and can someone please explain how Evan's flailing is so much worse than any other guy out there? I TRIED to get annoyed by flailing, and yes he uses his arms a lot but I don't think it's flailing as so much as "look I can puncuate the music with my arms... flailing to me looks like a skater is either trying to take flight or they're drowning and trying to break the surface. Maybe i's because of how I define it, I dunno)

His SP makes me somewhat glad I can't go to Skate Canada or US Nationals... bet you didn't think you'd see me say that!

Seriously show the inside of Sarah Evan's mouth instead of a throw jump.

Granted it was Rena and greaseball, but still... why don't you cut away from them when they're posing and doing stupid stereotypical country western dance "moves"?

BLAH! I can't wait to take over the school these people on how to shoot a skating event.


Kurt's little message was so off the cuff, and you could tell he was worried about his dad he had tears in his eyes... praying Dewey beats this third go around!

Kurt's out of the Skate For Life - Dewey's battle with cancer isn't going well, and Kurt's in Alberta right now. :-( My prayers are with them at this time.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/09/go/doc48ece38148e3a826998868.prt

Kurt is also preparing to have knee surgery later this month, october is not looking good for him so far. :(

...though I guess not really. I was on facebook tonight and left a comment on Heather's wall and started reading her quotes. She still has a few of our humorous moments from Nationals 08 on there and they always make me smile.

But now I'm sitting here kinda bummed because I don't get to share in the fun come January 2009. It's by my choice, I mean I wasn't happy with how we the fans were treated in St. Paul (the volunteers were treated even worse!) and I really do love going to Walt Disney World and It'll be over a year since I've seen Erin so it's definitely a plus...

...but I miss hanging out with Heather and the rest of the gang too. It's amazing how people I see only once every couple of years (though I am online with you all regularly) can be such a big part of my life. I really do look to you as close friends. I've confided in Heather and Binky and Flo and Kat a heck of a lot more than I have even my close friends in Kenai. I don't know if I ever say it enough but I really appreciate all of you. And I miss you and if there was one major complaint I had about Alaska - setting my issues with winter aside lol - it's that it's SO FAR AWAY from the rest of you!

so yeah... I'm looking at Heather's Nationals countdown and kinda feeling down. Don't get me wrong, I am not regretting the fact that I will be in Disney World getting tan (hopefully) while you all are "freezing" (as if one CAN in an ice arena lol) there and cheering on the US' best skaters... but I will miss the company...

maybe someday they'll host it down in Orlando and then Erin and I and all of you can come and be in the same place all at the same time. Kinda like Portland! that'd be cool! LOL

Yes I'm still majorly p.oed that a certain annoying person has considered I am a nonfan of my favorite sport. That it's just 'something to talk about' for me. BLAH.

Well, maybe he has a point. I am not going to Worlds. I made that decision at US Nationals this year, I'm also not attending US nationals in January. Not a big shocker because we all know where I will be basically that same time frame.

I will be at Walt Disney World with my best friend. Why? Because we rarely see each other because she's down in Montana and I'm in Alaska. It's not a crime to have more than one obsession and Disney just happens to be one of mine. I know I don't need to explain myself, I'm entitled to like what I do and go where I want.

Anyway I got an email from the 'representative for my area' for the 2009 World Championships and I emailed them back saying I would not be going to worlds and that I would appreciate it if they would take me OFF of the mailing list. When I can go for a longer period of time to an over priced theme park and stay ON PROPERTY for less than what I would spend for the NOSE BLEEDS at worlds then I'm going to the over priced theme park.

I got a very curt response from the representative. I have the same feeling about Nationals - it's just not cost effective or me to go. As much as I love spending time with the gang, and hob knobbing with skaters and watching nail biting competition, I cannot justify the cost when we're treated like crap as spectators by the USFSA. In my own little way I am just going to protest. It won't matter much in the long run (and I'm helping a person on the Disney Passporter Boards figure out what she wants to see at nationals - got her hooked last year lol!) but I just can't personally do it.

So yes, I hereby declare myself a nonfan. I am a non fan of the ISU and USFSA's stupid and crappy treatment of me the fan. I will not stuff their pockets so that they can further stick it to me later. IF that makes me unworthy of posting on a certain message board then so be it. ;)

We're working on our trading cards in digital imaging. I still haven't chosen the skaters yet, but I did decide to use Johnny's foot as the background.

Anyway I was looking through my photos and Red came up behind me and started gushing about my work and then spent most of the class period spying on my photos. He gave a few critiques, but said it was probably some of the best sports photography he'd seen in a while - and certainly the best figure skating lol

So I felt special. He was impressed.


That is all lol


I have this nagging cough that I can't get rid of and it's driving me nuts. I hate coughing, and especially in public as I know how annoying it is to people around me. BLAH!

Sold a textbook on Amazon today! 15 bucks in the bank, baby! lol

Other than that not much to report. I gotta get my butt in gear and update my Scotty site, and get on my mom to give me the latest happenings at FBCK so I can update that site.

I got offered to help with Keegan's site on FSO, so I'm really looking forward to that. I think I scared Jamie with my enthusiam when she asked, though ha ha!

Fur Rondy starts this weekend, which means the Rondy on Ice show is coming up. It's a USFSA sanctioned event, but even so I plan to be there and possibly take pictures. I got weird looks last time I was there for taking photos since I dont know any skaters, but considering Keegan is making waves in the skating community I say the show is fair game! LOL

I may just go and cheer on the skaters though. Anchorage FSC needs support even if they don't appreciate it.

There's a S. Central Photo Meet up on Saturday that I want to attend so that might be fun. Hopefully. We're going to shoot some of the happenings during Rondy. It'll be nice to get out even though the weather is not really all that Rondy friendly (people friendly, yes. winter fun, no lol)

Shinook winds came in and ate teh snow majorly. It's sad :(

ok off I go to upload more photos to my smugmug account. Still haven't heard from the bigwigs at USFSA....

I love Pirate bloopers lol. Absolutely hysterical. To know that they all are just normal and suck at remembering lines too is great. Johnny Depp has the most infectious laugh too. It's a quite one but his whole face lights up which cracks me up even more...

I'm watching all three Pirates movies today. Why? No real reason, other than I have the time and I have yet to watch all three back to back to back. I've done it with Star Wars - the Original Trilogy - so it's high time my new movie obsession get the same treatment. :)

I'm doing laundry, and once that's done I will finish packing and then get ready to go out to dinner. Since I will be in St. Paul on the 21st Judy's treating me early. :) We're gonna eat Chinese because I've been craving it for a week. I want an eggroll darn it!

I am so ready for this trip like you wouldn't believe. I've over packed my carry on but other than that I think I'm good as far as what I'm bringing. I just can't wait. I'm still so very bummed about Melissa and Denis, it'll just be weird not hanging with Dale and hearing the gossip lol and having Melissa and Denis tell stories on each other. I swear I've jinxed the event. Evan might as well quit now, I'm bad luck lol

I've decided that if I do any sort of 'report' from Nationals I'll only post here, but my main concern is posting photos on my photo site. ( http://alaskanmagic.smugmug.com ) but I have to keep some sort of log not only for myself, but so that my family up here don't think I've disappeared lol

Alright I gotta get my rear in gear. Ta!

What a downer way to wake up this morning to find out that Terrorists from who knows where were evil and attacked London. I am so sick of these sick and twisted people. And if Revelations (the Book, not the show) is any indication it'll only get worse. *sigh* My prayers are with all of you over there, while the city is the one most effected, the entire country feels the shock. so *hugs and prayers* go out to all!




More sad news as Angela Nikodinov is not planning to skate at all this season. The article on USFSA.org is here and the last paragraph has me thinking she'll go pro if she does come back to skating, but then again who knows. I'm still hoping she will come back and kick everyone's butts!



I have the snot wad known as Duane to babysit today... I love it when my parents don't warn me that I'll be stuck with him... he woke me up at 7 because he "didn't know" that I was home. Like mom and dad are stupid enough to leave him home alone. The dipwad. UGH. I am so ready to kill him because he "doesn't have to listen to me" and he's right, because dad is gone for the next three days so mom is going to take the crap he gives her as truth and I'll end up getting lectured for not being nice. UGH. Shoot me now.

The interview lasted about 20 minutes. She had a few more to go through so she said that she would hope to have a decision by last night and would call me sometime today. So here's hoping I get it. To be honest I don't think I did all that well. I was EXTREMELY nervous (I've never had a formal interview before) and I made a few jokes that I didn't realize what I was doing till it was too late to back out. But i think she liked the fact that I was born and raised on the Peninsula, that I live just right down the street from the place, and that I could make Kenai interesting (She did like my kenai joke, unfortunately I can't remember what I said it's all a blur! LOL) so we will see. I drew a blank early on in the interview... I was that nervous...


other than that I drove around for a while, we had to go get some scrapbooking stuff so I can get my skating stuff done. It's official I am a nutcase 3 packs of Timmy practicing????? WHAT WAS I THINKING? I have 5 photos of Evan practicing and 6 of Matt... and why did I take 9 of Ryan Jahnke?????? LOL bigger question why did I take 10 of Johnny? I've never been a fan of his so I am really confused as to what I was thinking. If any of you know what was going on in my head please say so LOL


I've been reliving nationals this week. Telling mom stories. She thinks we're all nuts, but she was glad that I ran into Heather. (She thinks you're really neat, Heather!) And she didn't freak when I said we upgraded our seats all week. She thought that was cool. LOL Gosh I've had so many remember when's this week... Remember when Peter Tchernyshev sat behind Kat and she practically hyerventalated right there. (We should have let her, maybe he would have performed CPR ;) then again that might kill her so it's a good thing, right?) or remember when Mel had to inform ALL of us that Peter smelled "really good" ? ;) Remember when Hez and Dawn were on the phone being mean to my Mikey???? LOL

seriously though I am so ready to go again. And if I get the job be ready because it's going to be nothing but "WOOT WOOT I'M GOING!!!!" lol for however many months till I get to go! ;)

tonight Kassy is coming over for dinner, she's babysitting our pastor's 5 youngest kids so they'll be here too (oh joy... UGH) Rob is also coming to dinner so yeah we're going to need more chicken. At least that's how *I* feel about it. LOL Dad and duane got home last night. Not sure what time though, because I had a headache and went to bed at 9pm last night! So yeah I am only on here for a few more minutes so I gotta go. I will get on later today I'm sure. Hope all is well with all of you!

-Toni
PS A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO aimzers *HUGS* I LOVE YOU!

from the Denver Post...
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,,36~118~2784471,00.html

Frank Carrol's quote made me laugh, because he was just so *frank* with how he summarized the US skating strengths and weaknesses ;)

"We have third and fourth place in men," Carroll said. "My God, that's a medal right there. The girls are going to win a medal. It could easily be second and third. Our pairs (stink), so you might as well forget that. Our ice dancers are good."


I still don't like Frank, but it was funny

Ok so I got all settled and watched a lot of skating yesterday. I love having ESPN!!!! Anyway I was scrapbooking my nationals photos and taping and watching skating and I was gushing over Terry and PETER being the commentators for the men. How much do I LOVE that Dick Button is no where to be heard??????? I LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT! no comparing EVERYONE to Michelle Kwan. Or going back to his day when *he* ruled the world and he would NEVER EVER make mistakes. I hate his commentary and I hope he stays far away for ever and ever. (A girl can dream)

With my luck with Scott not able to see well NBC has hired Dick for Olys next year and so he is no longer with ABC/ESPN. UGH


but the worst thing I did yesterday... I was chanting "put evan ahead of Johnny" after his skate. I had a system crash during the Men's stuff and didn't get back online at all... so it was a huge surprise!

I just don't like Johnny. I get the same vibe from him that I do from Sasha. I dunno, I just don't *like* him. And I know that makes me "bad" because *everyone* likes Johnny... but he leaves me cold. Yes he has gorgeous line, but I keep thinking that Sasha Cohen or another lady could do the same choreography to the same effect. I'm not saying he's gay or that he's girly... I just think he's overly lyrical LOL. And his hair annoys me too (I had a similar cut last year! yipes!)

Not only that, but Evan is just so darn CUTE! How could I not want him to medal....


and I still don't "get" Jeff Buttle *miffed*

I am sooooooooooooooo glad Spring Break is finally here. I wish it'd been this week. I seriously could not get excited about school at all this week.


I am skipping my only class of the day(hey the other two classes were cancelled and the one class I have is an hour and a half long, and is a breeze) because I really don't want to get dressed for one class. I am just that lazy and bad. LOL


Worlds is so exciting when you get up at 6am to chat with people at 7am. And when Hez, Flo, Mel, Jules, Brenda, and others are there... well it makes it that much more fun! I can't believe that teh skating season will be *over* after this week. I remember this time last year I was so freakingly excited for it to happen because I was going to nationals and everything... and it felt like Jan would never come, and now we're in mid-March! It's CRAZY...

I'm going to Kenai for Spring Break next week. Should be fun. I guess. Without Erin OR Kassy though I don't know what I'll be up to. Maybe I'll go bug Miss Joy everyday. That is always fun. And I can get the church website up and running. Because I can bug Pastor Dean into writing his bio.

Yuka is being SO CUTE right now that I can hardly stand it. She's sleeping so sweet that I just want to wake her up and cuddle her. But I will be good and will not do that. But I want to... I really really want to....

I am very confused. On my Dish stuff it says Figure Skating is on ESPN right now, but it's Baseball crap. I hate baseball. As I said before, the only real sport is Figure Skating. And neither Brenda nor Jules can change my mind. Soccer, Basketball, Hockey, etc, they are all wannabe sports. LOL

Yuka is snoring and now she is barking in her sleep which is more like squeaking... too too TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!! I love her! Must control urge to cuddle! :|

I was going to say more but Yuka is distracting when she is so cute... and I forgot


oh wait... I was going to gush about ANWR getting passed in congress yesterday. Ok it's the first step, but whether you like it or not this is GREAT news for my state. Our economy desperately needs this, and unlike the beliefs of Petter Jennings and Co. it will not distroy the wildlife. ANWR is bigger than what they actually want to dig in. and ANWR itself doesn't make up a big percentage of Alaska. And did I mention the state NEEDS some source of income as the 48 states that have total control over the "youngest" 2 states take most gov. funding and we're left with the crappy left overs?

sorry for the semi-rant, but this is great news for Alaska, and if you don't like it oh well, you don't live up here! LOL

when this season hasn't even ended yet?

Ok so I've been doing the math for a couple of days...

IF I were to go and bunk with Chele and Brenda (which would so totally rock!) I would easily be able to afford the hotel food wouldn't be too hard, I normally just ate at the rink, but I can afford that too

the tickets I can get because the PFD will run about 900 bucks (at least that's what they're saying right now) so I can afford this...

besides I can talk money out of the people who love me...

I'm still trying to figure out the plane ticket... if I can get that then I am good to go and I will finally just make the decision to go!


so hopefully when I talk to mom (probably tonight) about it we can figure it all out.

and if not I'll send Commando Hez in and she can blast my parents with emails and info and begging and all that good stuff ;) (she has informed me that she is a good butt kicker, so hopefully it will not come to that! LOL)


oh and my aunt wants to know how big a group is going LOL I have no idea why
so far I know
-Hez
-Brenda
-Chele
-maybe me
who else is planning to go?

I can definitely say that the ice dance portion of Nationals was a big part of why I went and why I had such a great time. Between Melissa Gregory's mom giving us the inside scoop about anything and everything (and do I mean EVERYTHING LOL) to the fact that I actually had more than one person/team to cheer for it was just really fun. Our section should have totally been deemed "Team G/P" because we were all really cheering our lungs out for them! LOL Not only that but Tanith and Ben are just so awesome that it just made for a fun competition (and those two teams are heads and tails above the rest of the field... you don't really see the difference until you put a lesser team up against Tanith and Ben though... Tiffany and Sergey are sooooooooooooo boring looking after Tanith and Ben skate LOL)

I really like Tiffany and Sergey though. They look well matched, both work well together. (And as far as I know, or really Melissa's mom knows the rumor about Tiffany and Peter are completely untrue) She has a lot of personality and it works. She is so pretty. Their costumes were great. But their FD left a lot to be desired. They had a sucky skate drawing considering they were back to back with Tanith and Ben and that REALLY made their weaknesses stand out. You can definitely see WHY Tanith and Ben are first and why Tiffany and Sergey barely made teh podium.

Melissa and Denis *sigh* that dang thing on teh ice! According to Melissa she hit something on the ice -- she's not sure what -- that distracted her. She was thinking about stopping and asking the ref if she could look for it to make sure she didn't hit it again, but then figured it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She informed us that it pissed her off to not have a clean skate. It was so cute the way she said it. LOL She is so sweet. She signed my sign I made for them the night before (stayed up till after midnight and the first time I forgot how to spell her name, and the second one looked like it was made by a drunk girl LOL). We also finally found out what their program is all about. It's titled (by Nikolai no less) "The beginning of my life" and is a tribute to their wedding in Vegas. (hence the "21" on the back of Denis' shirt, and the dice on the front... and the arm pull during their footwork) Anna renamed it "Cha-ching" and when Melissa walked up after the competition was over that was the first thing Anna said to her. Which got a big roll of the eyes from Melissa. It was too funny, and kind of embarassing, but what can ya do? LOL I still want to think that Denis is wearing a 21 to say "happy bday" to me as the 21st is my bday! WOOT!!! LOL

Tanith and Ben... what can I say? They were awesome. They are so fast on TV but just so much more so in person... and so Dynamic... and exciting... and hot... and awesome... and cool... and sweet... and wow... loved them... loved their program... loved everything about them. . They totally deserved the 6.0s in my opinion, though. Great to see them win another title!

I love how Dale just walks up and treats us like life long friends! She rules!

The pairs were a surprisingly exciting portion of the competition as well. I was really looking for a splatfest and not much else and I am happy to report that I was completely wrong. Sure there were a lot more mistakes than there should have been, but it was no less exciting. I was disappointed that Scott and Dulebohn didn't skate their best to get 3rd, but there's nothing I can do that about it. :(

Scott and Dulebohn seem like such sweet people! It's really heartbreaking that they can't get it all together. They could totally rock out otherwise. I liked their costumes, and their LP is awesome. I hope they keep it next year and totally get a place on the Oly team. The program has a lot of personality and innovative moves. It was an enjoyable program, and they seemed well suited for it. They looked like they liked it. It was a very comfy program for them, which was nice to see. Phillip was such a kick at the awards ceremony!

Inoue & Baldwin -- his parents sat behind us again. His dad seemed to be so excited about the fact that there were 3 teams on teh podium that were national champions... it was weird LOL They had a decent skate, but I honestly do not see what is so exciting about their competitive skating. It was really just ho-hum for me. I'm not saying this because I am now a fan of Katie and Garrett. I just was not as impressed with them as others say I should be. *shrugs*

Katie and Garrett -- talk about awesome. He should totally get the flu more often. (ok not really, but still) they were great. She gets SO much height on the throws it's scary (especially since PEter said it was because she goes too high that her ankle can't support the impact) but omg I loved the program --hated the costumes--it was great. they were great... had a total fangirly moment and everything. Brenda, it's all your fault! LOL They looked so confused to have won, though, in teh kiss and cry. Ok, so Katie looked confused, Garrett looked down right sick. Poor guy.

that night was just inspired. It was really awesome. the awards ceremony was great too. Hoping the pictures turn out really crisp!