- - Tuesday, December 02, 2003 If only this rain was romantic Came down in BUCKETS today. Work was blah, which is usually what it is when it rains. I'm inside/outside at any given moment during the day. That brings me to wonder what the hell to wear from time to time. I'm thinkin' to just sport a Short Track Skinsuit - the kevlar material can keep me from getting sliced in two by an obvious 5 year old cutter without a cause, and the slick spandex will ward off any permanent markers, elmer's glue....or my favorite, fingers fresh out of the nose. *gag* There are days that I feel somewhat like a superhero. Preschool is just my day job. My "cover". But the sun goes down, and I may not jump into a germ-infested telephone booth to make the transformation, but the "power" button on the computer is just as exhilarating. I went a whole year and two months without anyone from the world outside short track really understanding what I do with this hobby of mine. While with my friend's family in Livermore, CA last weekend, her uncle asked me about what I do for a living. "Preschool." I said, with a lump of pre-Christmas cookies stuck in my thoat. "Ahh, a school teacher, eh?" her uncle says. He's the type that probably intimidates people without much effort, and just before I was about to make an off-beat comment, my friend pipes up. "Tell him what ELSE you do, April! Do you guys watch the Olympics? Do you know Apolo Anton Ohno?" (my friend loves to pronounce "Ohno" as "Uh-Oh", just to get on my nerves) Lucky for the rest of the free world, these people actually KNEW about Apolo, and I could sense them all listening in at this point. Now, I may be a HUGE fan of Apolo, but I'm not a huge fan of trying to explain to people how I'm actually involved in this Short Track triangle. I was stammering for words, since far be it for me to even KNOW what I really do, and my friend is already 5 beats ahead of me. "She's met Apolo, a bunch of times. They're friends!" "..I...I wouldn't say that..." I spit out, by this time hoping that before I have to elaborate I'll have fallen into one of the creases of the couch to never return. I tried to explain the best way I knew how, details of how I came to know about Apolo, the websites & art work I've made, the trips to world cups I've taken. Maybe the squirmy feeling would come from my sheer dumbfoundedness on how the hell I've been able to do the things I've done in the last 2 years. Pretty soon, I was blabbing away without even thinking, kinda like Apolo when he's talking about the mechanics of a short track blade. My friend's uncle seemed baffled at the connections that I've come across, the whole media pass phenom, and the charity work. I also happen to slip in Bridie's site. And on came the onslaught of questions: "Do you get paid for these sites, these trips?" I laughed. "Uh, no. Just for the love of the sport." (right about NOW, I'm taking myself about as serious as if I were wearing the NMU WildCat suit) "How'd you find out about this sport?" Eh, if I were to be completely honest and say that it was because of this asian milkshake, with wavy locks, a killer smile, and a giggle to render me paralyzed, I'm most definitely sure he would have toppled to the floor from rolling his eyes too hard. "I always watch the Olympics, and Short Track was something I hadn't seen before...uh, and Apolo was awesome to watch." (Ok, so it wasn't THAT far from the truth) "So April, how does one like yourself get these connections?" He asks, a little on the sarcastic side. "Well, I have it goin' on, and I'm slick with the skater scene, and knowing HTML doesn't hurt either.." I said. That's funny. Because somehow that sentence came out as "I have no idea, to be honest". By the end of the night, her uncle was fascinated and wished me well on my ass-chasin' short track lovin' adventures. I was suckered into blowing my "cover", and telling things that no one really believes anyway. My ST habit is slowly leaking out to the natural world, and I'll have to adjust. I mean, c'mon, it's so much FUN to have a 'secret'. Well, I guess there's nothing secret about flying to Michigan for 5 days.

posted by April @ 12:39 AM 0 Comments: Post a Comment << Home