I managed to survive rollerblading, though at one point I was sure that Kelly was going to give herself an aneurism from laughing so hard. I met her over at her house with my rollerblades (actually cheapo Walmart brand knock-offs) and my pads. (Kelly assured me that she had bandaids, gauze, splints, painkillers, and a phone to call 911.) So we suited up in her living room, I managed to manuever my way to the front door, at which point I realized that her driveway has a slope down to the street. Admittedly it's not a very steep slope, but to me it looked like a hill in San Francisco.

"Diana, you have to let go of the house," Kelly advised me. "Just coast down to the street."

Yeah... right... Just coast on down. I told Kelly that she had obviously been smoking crack. I plodded through the grass to get to the street.

"Diana, you have to let go of the tree."

God, she's demanding!

The first block was... amusing. I have not been on anything skate-related in many many years, and I wasn't very good even then. I managed to not fall, though there was a great deal of wobbling and waving of arms. "I'm 35 years old and I'm learning how to skate! This is ridiculous!" Kelly somehow managed to control her snickers and even shouted words of encouragement. We turned the corner and I was having a terrible time with the cracks in the street--convinced that if I hit a crack my skate would surely catch in the quarter-inch gap and send me hurtling to the pavement. My efforts to step over the cracks resulted in even more wobbling, and at one point a passing driver actually rolled down his window and yelled, "You're doing great!" And I was so obviously not doing great that Kelly had to stop blading because she was laughing so hard.

I finally got over my fear of the cracks and got to the point where I could coast over them. I apparantly still looked like an uncoordinated klutz because two more drivers shouted helpful tips like, "Don't fall!" Yeah, thanks. Is that the trick?

But after a half-dozen or so blocks I felt like I was starting to get the hang of it. It really is terrific exercise and I know I'm going to feel it in my legs and shins tomorrow. I'll probably also feel it in my back because I spent most of the time somewhat crouched in an attempt to lessen the distance to the concrete in the event of a wipe-out.

We were about three-quarters of the way around the route when I started to say to Kelly, "Wow, I can't believe I haven't f--" then slammed my mouth shut. "Don't jinx yourself!" Kelly replied.

And, miracle of miracles, I made it the whole way without falling! I won't say I didn't look like a complete dork--which is why I didn't feel dumb wearing the knee pads and wrist braces. I figured I was already going to look stupid enough with my skating! I even manged to skate (kinda) my way up the driveway, though I did have to cling to the house again for support when we got to the door. It did get easier the farther we went, and I think after a few more times I'll actually feel semi-comfortable with it. It would be nice to have some alternatives to the cardio machines at the gym. The rollerblading is definitely not boring, that's for sure. Struggling to not die makes the time just fly by!