Logically Thinking

Alright. I guess this has been on my mind and I don't feel as if I need to share it with anyone but I guess it helps me if I put it in words.

Today I woke up and I am 18 years old. I go to school without any idea why. I know that at some point I will pursue a career in a specific field and that field will require that I obtain a college degree. I do not know what that career is and when I finally will end up in it. I go to college with the idea that it is going to hit me even though deep down I know it wont. I've spent the last 18 months searching for a career that will interest me but not destroy me as I age at the same time. I am a workaholic. So I have been trying to pick a career in which I will be less likely to be a workaholic but at the same time I need to love it to do it. That's where the search ends every time. Let me explain why.

Previously I stated that I am 18 years old. That is true, and my life is at a crossroad. I have so many aspirations and goals the only problem is time. You think Keith, you are 18 how can time possibly play a factor in your life at this point? But you are far wrong. This is the problem. I want to be an inliner my entire life. Its so much better then ice and that is not an opinion, I've done both, inlining is way better. I could tell you why but that is another blog for another day. I want to be an Olympian just as bad as I want to be an inliner. The paths don't cross. No part of me ever wants to leave inlines much less sooner rather then later.

Diving deeper now, not only do I want to be an inliner I want to be a champion. Now it is easy, I've won a race before so sure I've been a champion, wrong, I've been a winner. There is a distinction. Even more I want to be a world champion. This is not talk, you see, it eats at me every day. I think of when I was in Colombia, Spain, China and it eats me away. I think of this horrid snow and how I can't be out there making it happen hands on. Everyday I sit and think of how I can be better, if a tweak this or that if I will be better. And going deeper I've always felt that I could never leave this sport without being a World Champion. Now in order for me to break down the distinction I would lose sight of the purpose of this blog, so again that is another blog for another day.

Back to time. Relatively speaking.. the next Olympics is in 2014. In order for me to pursue that Olympics I need to make a stand now. In other words, I need to move (in the year 2010) to have a realistic chance at the 2014 games. Now it is possible that I could wait another year and still have a chance, but I don't want a chance I need more then that. The bigger problem here is I might not have a chance if I don't take the opportunity now while it is here. Now you are thinking wait a minute Keith, you will only be 22 how is that your only chance? Now it gets interesting.

Diving really deep here: If I continue inlining for the next four years I will love every minute of it I can promise you that. But inlining is not a career for me. Well, let's face it.. I don't even have a sponsor how can skating be anything close to a career for me? Therefore skating is not making me money (in fact it is the opposite skating still costs me money like most), and yes NSC has the ability to prosper into something that will make me money, but right now it's not a career. I can't count my marbles on the idea that it will be my career in four years either. Now it might start making a little since.

In case it isn't.. lets say I decide that in 2014 I will make my move and devote myself to becoming an Olympic Athlete at the 2018 games. I will be between the ages of 22 and 26 during that time and I will not have a career yet therefore I will not be making significant money. And now you might be thinking, Keith, there are plenty of inliners that go to ice and aren't making significant money right now. Yes you are correct but they also have mommy and daddy supporting them financially for the most part (not all but most). Well mommy doesn't exist for me and daddy has five adult kids, and bills to pay, he also fathered a boy who wants to earn his way, not be given it. Now you think "oh you are a stubborn boy" and you would be correct.

Now lets keep going.. you might be thinking, "Ahahhh! you are in luck they have created a WHIP program for people just like you" but you would be wrong. They created a WHIP program in theory for people like me the only problem is one year before they did such a thing as to move everything to Salt Lake City, Utah... Not exactly the inline capital of the US is it? If the US short track program was still based out of Colorado like it once was then yes, i would be in lots of luck. Unfortunately now it is not. You might think Keith, skaters can do both if they really want to and you would be wrong again. I have to train to be good. I have to train on inlines to be good and train on ice to be good. Now if I go to Utah I am an ice skater strictly who would skate inlines during the ice offseason like all the other WHIP members. Why? Well there is no established rink in Utah for the whip members to practice their indoor inlines. And if you didn't know SLC does get some snow and is fairly difficult to skate outdoor during the winter months with this horrid snow stuff on the roads. So what happens? You end up an ice skater who skates inlines (if you really want) during the summer months back home. (Now you start to see the true flaws with this whole inliners on ice thing).

So in the end you might wonder why I truly care about the Olympics, especially considering it wont make me any more money then inlining which is a net profit of zero. If you don't believe me check out this story ESPN did.. then look at the tab on the right side that says the Millionaires, The Strugglers, and The Lifers Read the three stories. I care because I love sport and I wont that moment. I want that moment when everything finally comes together and I realize that it was all worth it.

Snow, Snow, Go Away

I could probably end my blog now... and everyone will understand. But let me go into detail.

First, my forever battle with mother nature. I live in Pennsylvania for reasons that are far beyond me. I do not like having four seasons. I would rather have like summer and a little cooler then summer that's it. My perfect temperature is around 83 degrees and that is no exaggeration.

Now there is lots of snow on the ground, ice on the roads, and more snow coming. There at one point was close to two feet, about an inch has probably been knocked off but with the drifts and such some areas look like 2.5ft and others look like 8 inches. Tonight and into tomorrow we are looking at no less then a foot (most likely) and I've heard much much more then that. I do not go out and play in the snow for one simple reason.. it is cold. I hate everything about the cold. And snow is very cold.

Next it brings me to this point, snow kills me for odd reasons. It makes me think a million times a day what it will be like when the weather breaks and that makes me think of how much I am going to love skating outdoors without like 4 layers on. Next it gives me the itch, it makes me want to be outside skating right now. I can imagine myself skating outdoors and I love it.. mostly because I love outdoor skating. Then my day dream ends and I realize it is still white outside and cold outside.

Let me take it a step further (have you noticed I'm not a fan of winter) in the winter sickness spreads like wildfire. Just about everyone in my household had gotten sick this winter to some degree except me. I was basking in my defeat of sickness.. when I got sick. I am not sick like seriously sick. I have a cold or maybe just a cough I don't know. But it sucks. If you get sick, you go to the doctor and get an antibiotic and you are better in like 7 days. If you get a cold/cough you are SOL and it decides to stay with you for weeks on end. I have been on a vitamin frenzy since my cough thinking if I get enough vitamins and minerals in me it will go away.. negative.

And yes, the winter sucks.