up close and personal with michelle kwan

michelle kwan, five-time world champion and the most decorated female figure skater in u.s. history opened her own ice skating rink in the city of artesia, about a 45-minute drive from los angeles. it is called the 'east west ice arena,' after east west bank, whose spokesperson is, yes, michelle kwan.

i am not really an avid fan of figure skating (sure!) but i was quite awed to see michelle in person. as a treat to everyone who attended the event, michelle performed a routine [i think this is the same routine she performed in russia for this year's world championships where she placed 4th!] using josh groban's 'you raise me up.'

the performance was goosebump-inducing, as it was my first time ever to watch a figure skater perform live. i saw sasha cohen a couple of weeks ago but this was not match. well, sasha did not actually skate so i am quite biased.

after her performance, luc robitaille joined her in the rink and performed warm-up hockey. luc's a professional hockey player and quite a celeb in the los angeles sports scene. i first saw him in person four christmas seasons ago when he and keanu reeves lit the christmas tree at the 7th and fig [an establishment in downtown la].

on a more personal level... i have not been feeling well since this morning. my nose is stuffy and i have difficulty breathing. i am blaming the freaking weather for this . the weekend was suoer warm and when i woke up this morning, it was freezing cold. i hate getting sick.

[i'll post the pics soon.]