On ice skating...

Today was a good ice skating lesson.

In fact, it was a thing of loveliness.

I skated for an hour and a half, including a half hour lesson, and worked myself hard enough that I got off the ice feeling sweaty, and with my feet cramping up so badly I could hardly walk. I also now have a certificate from Paulette (my wonderful trainer) that says I have reached the level I last reached at the age of 11.

I am, now, as good as my pre-pubescent self was at figure skating.

This still makes me happy.

I was also pondering, as I skated round, how very happy ice skating does make it. I'm not sure why. I just know that there is no angst or sturm or drang which doesn't seem to fade on the ice, leaving me feeling cool and clean. I'm just always calm and happy at the end of a skating session.

I think it's because ice skating is both a little bit detached from my real life - no one can call me, or message me, or poke me when I'm skating - and is also one of the few things I do which is solely mine. There are no expectations of me when I ice skate. I can't negatively affect other people if I do badly. There's no necessity for me to do well. If I don't turn up, no one will care except me. And when I do well, it is something which is a pleasure for me alone. There's no reason why I need to be able to skate. But it's lovely when I can, and it's lovelier for being this thing that I can hug to myself and treasure as my own.

If that makes any sense.

In other good news, I had a lovely package from Nomad Clothing arrive in the post today, and I've also watched another episode of Primeval: Season 2.

It's not a bad world. Not really.

On ice skating...

Today was a good ice skating lesson.

In fact, it was a thing of loveliness.

I skated for an hour and a half, including a half hour lesson, and worked myself hard enough that I got off the ice feeling sweaty, and with my feet cramping up so badly I could hardly walk. I also now have a certificate from Paulette (my wonderful trainer) that says I have reached the level I last reached at the age of 11.

I am, now, as good as my pre-pubescent self was at figure skating.

This still makes me happy.

I was also pondering, as I skated round, how very happy ice skating does make it. I'm not sure why. I just know that there is no angst or sturm or drang which doesn't seem to fade on the ice, leaving me feeling cool and clean. I'm just always calm and happy at the end of a skating session.

I think it's because ice skating is both a little bit detached from my real life - no one can call me, or message me, or poke me when I'm skating - and is also one of the few things I do which is solely mine. There are no expectations of me when I ice skate. I can't negatively affect other people if I do badly. There's no necessity for me to do well. If I don't turn up, no one will care except me. And when I do well, it is something which is a pleasure for me alone. There's no reason why I need to be able to skate. But it's lovely when I can, and it's lovelier for being this thing that I can hug to myself and treasure as my own.

If that makes any sense.

In other good news, I had a lovely package from Nomad Clothing arrive in the post today, and I've also watched another episode of Primeval: Season 2.

It's not a bad world. Not really.

On work sickness...

I was reading this this morning and felt the usual wrench in my stomach.

I hate articles like this. I hate them with a fiery passion.

Maybe there are people out there, who skive off every Monday, but I know way more people who struggle into work whilst every muscle in their body is aching, and they are shivering slightly with fever because 'I've already had too many days off sick'. Maybe there are people who just don't bother, who would be vastly motivated by the abolition of sick pay, but I think there would be more people suffering from serious conditions like cancer who's illness were being seriously worsened by the stress of not being able to pay their rent/mortgage. Maybe the majority of sick days do come from people who are just lazy, as this article suggests, but I think I've seen more people take time off because they had pneumonia, or a fever of 103 degrees, or couldn't actually talk and could only make little croaking noises.

I hate articles like this because I don't think we are a nation of skivers. I think we're a nation of workaholics, with a vastly distorted notion on the importance of work.

I think the kind of 'drag yourself into work, no matter what' culture will actually lose businesses a lot more money in terms of decreased productivity, when it becomes the norm for every virus to go all the way around the office, and to keep going as people insist on coming in, sitting listlessly at their desk for the day, and then staggering home, never quite getting better and passing the disease on to everyone they know.

And finally, I am fairly sure that in the world that that writer lives in, it wouldn't be possible for anyone with long term health problems to get a job at all. Why would any of these tough go getting companies with no tolerance for human weakness hire someone with arthritis, or chronic asthma? And who the hell is going to pay for those people to eat if that world came to pass?

Gah! And argh!

On work sickness...

I was reading this this morning and felt the usual wrench in my stomach.

I hate articles like this. I hate them with a fiery passion.

Maybe there are people out there, who skive off every Monday, but I know way more people who struggle into work whilst every muscle in their body is aching, and they are shivering slightly with fever because 'I've already had too many days off sick'. Maybe there are people who just don't bother, who would be vastly motivated by the abolition of sick pay, but I think there would be more people suffering from serious conditions like cancer who's illness were being seriously worsened by the stress of not being able to pay their rent/mortgage. Maybe the majority of sick days do come from people who are just lazy, as this article suggests, but I think I've seen more people take time off because they had pneumonia, or a fever of 103 degrees, or couldn't actually talk and could only make little croaking noises.

I hate articles like this because I don't think we are a nation of skivers. I think we're a nation of workaholics, with a vastly distorted notion on the importance of work.

I think the kind of 'drag yourself into work, no matter what' culture will actually lose businesses a lot more money in terms of decreased productivity, when it becomes the norm for every virus to go all the way around the office, and to keep going as people insist on coming in, sitting listlessly at their desk for the day, and then staggering home, never quite getting better and passing the disease on to everyone they know.

And finally, I am fairly sure that in the world that that writer lives in, it wouldn't be possible for anyone with long term health problems to get a job at all. Why would any of these tough go getting companies with no tolerance for human weakness hire someone with arthritis, or chronic asthma? And who the hell is going to pay for those people to eat if that world came to pass?

Gah! And argh!