Lynda and Rosey's Fantabulous Skating Adventures: Day 2

Lynda: We started the day with some serious bus issues. Parking was so expensive on Thursday that on Friday we decided to exercise our lungs and save some money by taking the bus. Unfortunately, we hadn't planned on the pouring rain or the strong winds.

We were greeted at the bus stop by an excessively chatty crossing guard. When the bus finally arrived, we boarded it with haste, only to find that the bus had been hit by a car, and it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. When the next bus arrived, there were so many people waiting that there was no room for us. So, instead of walking a half a block to Rosey's building and getting in a nice dry car, we headed out on foot towards the Metro Centre. We caught another bus that took us another few blocks, and then we ended up walking another few blocks through puddles and copious amounts of rain until we got to the rink.

Needless to say, we were a little wet when we got there.

Sitting in damp clothes in a skating rink is slightly less than ideal, especially when you're going to be there for seven hours. We decided to warm up with some rink hot chocolate. I was determined to continue to document our Day 2 saga, so I snapped some pics of us sipping our scalding hot drinks.

This one made us collapse into giggles, which caused Rosey to spill her hot chocolate on her leg. So, not only was she cold and wet, she had a lovely red spot on her skin.

All because we didn't want to pay for parking.

Men's Short Program

Lynda: There were many delightful looking men, but sadly, not a lot of them managed to land all their jumps. Those that did earned thunderous applause from the audience, mostly because we were glad to see them land on their feet and not on their pretty bottoms. Joey Russell, the pride of Labrador City, was one such skater. Not only can he jump, but he moves his arms with the music very well, which also set him apart. We also appreciated the Gumby-like contortions of NB's Shawn Sawyer.

Rosey: Once again, Emmanuel Sandhu delivered a disappointing performance. The crowd expressed its unhappiness when his technical scores were revealed - they seemed awfully high for someone who fell on his quad, singled his axel and then pretty much gave up for the rest of the 3 minutes. We both agree we're tired of waiting for him to get it together. Plus he's done something weird to his hair and now he looks like Mark from Ugly Betty. (Unfortunately, due to his neon costume, Emmanuel was the easiest skater to catch with a camera.)

Lynda: After Emmanuel's phoned-in program, we couldn't help but root for Christopher Mabee. He brought the crowd to their feet with his clean skate. I can just picture Rod Black's head spinning as he tries to conjure up appropriate Mabee-related catch phrases...

And then there was Jeffrey Buttle.

We love Jeff Buttle.

Rosey: Yes, there is definitely lots and lots of love for Jeffrey Buttle. We were a little surprised that he achieved a personal best for a performance that was better than most other skaters, but still not quite up to his usual wonderful standard. However, he didn't look like his back was bothering him and we were hoping he was just saving up for a stunning long program.

NOTE: He totally was!!!

Women's Long Program

Lynda: The long-standing tradition of the women's free skate splat-fest continues. Sadly, it was not exciting at all. Cynthia was lovely again. Mira went clean, but she does not do it for us at all. Even Joannie was off, and she's lucky she hung on to her title. There was a serious lack of electricity in the air. Meh.

Rosey: Part way through the women's program we were reminded again of the wonderfulness of our seats when Brian Orser, Victor Kraatz, and Shae-Lynn Bourne showed up! Here's a slightly blurry pic of the lovely Shae-Lynn:

Lynda: By the time we left the Metro Centre, the torrential rain had slowed to freezing drizzle/light flurries. Once we got back to Rosey's, we indulged ourselves in fabulous chocolate waffles and hit the hay to dream of Bryce Davison, Jeffrey Buttle, and all the lovely things that could happen in Day 3.