What Aggressive Skating Means To Me

I've been wanting to find the time to sit down and blog about this, but never really got around to it. And since I do have some time to spare, here it goes..

I started skating again some time last year, when I bought a pair of 2nd hand skates for a steal of $10! The only reason why I didn't skate much previously, was because I refused to purchase a pair of skates. An investment of $200-$300 on a pair of skates did not make any sense to me. It was also then, that I found out that my oldest brother had also purchased a pair of skates not too long ago and had been skating weekly. I really enjoyed skating again but it wasn't long before that pair of skates gave way and after finding too much joy in skating, I somehow ended up purchasing a brand new pair of skates without much thought.

Even though I found joy in skating, I was and still am a terrible skater -.- In fact, there is probably not one lamppost in East Coast Park that I haven't crashed into. The only thing that I was capable of doing was rolling back and forth. I did not know how to slow down, stop or even turn, and it was because of that, that I ended up having a bad fall and suffering from a broken tail bone and torn ligaments in the mid-section of my back and knee.

Still, it wasn't long before I started skating again and this time, I did things the right way, by learning how to turn and brake. I'm still really bad at it, but it is definitely an improvement, comparing to when I first started skating. It was also then, that my oldest brother went back to aggressive skating and it wasn't long before he gifted me with a pair of aggressive skates as an advanced birthday present.

Introducing to you guys, my blue baby, the Valo TV.2.

Although I was overwhelmed with fear (in fact, I still am), I decided to try something new. And honestly, the only reason why I was enthusiastic about skating in general, is probably because it's the perfect excuse that I've got to spend a little more time with my oldest brother. In fact, as time went by, I found skating to be the perfect way to relief stress - on top of the fact that you do get a really good workout from skating as well.

I know that a lot of people would describe me as someone with a really girly personality and find it hard to believe that I picked up aggressive skating. But let's be honest here, the things that I'm doing are the very basic tricks which even I find as an embarrassment, because my fear of falling/pain, is hindering my progress to move forward and sometimes, it really upsets me. Of course it really upsets me even more, when my brother loses his patience and passes off comments like "You're not trying hard enough", "You're stubborn and lazy" or "You are just to scared to do anything."

I believe that everyone progresses differently and that I should attempt things according to my confidence and comfortably at my own pace. With my lack of self confidence, it makes me feel extremely terrible when it seems like my efforts or attempts are not being recognized, especially in comparison to my 2nd brother who has progressed a lot faster than me, after recently picking up aggressive skating.

Still, I find it important to inculcate the habit of never giving up. And although my progress is moving terribly slowly, I find joy in being in the company of the family and friends that I've made (even though they can be really annoying and mean to me) and it has also been a great form to release all that work stress!

So even though my friends have been telling me that it's about time that I hang those skates up and spend a little more time on everything else, I have to say that.. aggressive skating is a blessing to me, because it was an opportunity that reunited both my brothers and I.

Theoretically, aggressive skating has become, part of my heart.

Waterfront Skating

For about more than half a year now, my brother has been organizing weekly skating/cycling session (although we've been slacking off a few weeks now) among our closest friends to encourage healthy living.

It's been too long since our last distance skating session, so we seized the opportunity when we had an extremely long break from work over the Chinese New Year holidays.

There wasn't much response from the invites, so we were really surprised that there were a total of 11 + 1 in attendance!

Previously we've skated through East Coast Park and even Changi Beach (where we skated a distance of 8km). This time, we decided to skate through Promenade Lawn, after discovering it a while back. The view was nothing short of amazing and the weather was perfect, for awhile that is.

My older brother and I were really excited, because my second brother, his wife and daughter had mentioned that they were keen to join us for awhile now and it was finally happening! Mel's (my other sister-in-law) cousin and his family were joining us too! Alongside the usual Madhu and Henry, the rare face Mr Tan also showed up bright and early that morning!

Voila~ This is us in front of the wonderful citiscapes of Singapore!

And with my wonderful brothers, sister-in-laws and most adorable niece ever!

Mel's cousin and daughter were still in the learning stages of blading, and my sister-in-law, Zizi was still trying to get used to my recreational skates, while Henry lost a wheel and my second brother was all about going straight, as fast as he could.

And unfortunately, while we were waiting for everyone to gather at the Marina Barrage bridge, the storm clouds crept up on us, forcing us to head back. While scrambling our way back to the cars, it started pouring and so for the first time in a really long time, I was forced to play in the rain. Every time I get caught in the rain, I get sick almost instantly (like less than half an hour later), but I really didn't have a choice this time.

Since we could not continue skating, we headed to Kallang Leisure Park for lunch at Thai Express!

Thank you Fuh Yong, for the lunch treat! :)

While we lingered around for awhile, both families had to leave which only meant, bowling! We've been bowling so often now, that it's actually starting to get a little tiring :/

After our game, it was still a little too early to call it a day, so we ended up in East Coast Park for a short skate before heading home!

It was truly a wonderful experience, sharing the beauty of the surroundings with loved ones and most of all, enjoying ourselves with our healthy activities. I really can't wait for the next round of bonding, but I'm pretty sure those days are soon to come!

Daddy's Little Girl

Missing my daddy, who is currently holidaying in Bali! Stay safe, 

enjoy your well deserved break and come home soon! 

Xoxo, your little girl.

Christmas

Christmas has always held a special meaning for me and even though it may no longer do the same, it still is my favourite holiday! :)

After my Christmas Eve performance at CHIJMES, I headed over to Sel's place for an impromptu night in, just so the girl wouldn't be alone to countdown to Christmas! It was an absolutely different atmosphere altogether the year before, but a quiet countdown with a loved one sufficed. 

On Christmas, I met up with my dad before making our way to my brother's place for Christmas lunch! Wasn't really dressed to a Christmas feel, so I wore a red bow instead! :p

It was a buffet lunch at my brother's place and I was still hungry after 1 serving. Everyone was practically forcing me to the buffet line for a second serving when my dad went, "So fat already, still want to eat. You better not." T.T

We had a lot of fun taking pictures with the sleepy Raymond, lol.

My second brother popped by for awhile, so I snapped a pic with my babygirl and our matching hair bows! She's such a joy :')

We had an exchange of Christmas presents and look at the presents that I had gotten! As always, I was being spoilt silly. Teehee!

In the evening, we headed over to my cousin's place for their yearly Christmas gathering! Since we all had to work the next day, our gathering wasn't as happening as it was last year. But it was certainly an enjoyable gathering with the loved ones :)