This week, I found myself on ice again – only the 2nd time in my entire life. And it’s the first time the fiance and I have gone ice skating together. Please don’t get me wrong, we are no experts – we are very much beginners! We didn’t fall over each other but it’s easy to see how ice skating can make couples fall in love again. 
Here’s a picture taken by my friend, Clarence. I try to look glam in all photos but the fiance likes to do the opposite. I hope he’s regretting now…
And in the picture, you see a little girl using a penguin skating aid (S$10 for 2hours). It’s actually a great help for those learning to skate for the first time. I actually “borrowed” one for a bit too. 
But the real penguin was behind me all the time… the fiance.
Actually, the reason he was around was because I had been invited to go ice skating by a male friend. If said friend is female, the fiance might have stayed on longer at work and given ice skating a miss entirely. Heh!
And I understand perfectly… Ice skating is very much a “contact sport” *wink*. So instead of bringing your date to watch a horror movie and hoping she clings on to you during the scary parts of the movie, go ice skating instead. A newbie skater will be clinging onto you the SECOND she gets onto the ice! Ha! *Of course, guys, please ensure you are proficient at skating first, ok?
Back to the penguin behind me…
He stayed close to me all the time, ever ready to catch me if I was wobbling a little on the skates / looked like I was about to fall / shrieking as if I was about to fall. To be honest, I wasn’t very appreciative of that. I didn’t want to appear “weak”, I thought I could figure out this whole balancing and skating thing on my own, without any help. [Sorry darling. I was lucky you were around or I'd have ended up on my bum or knees.]
Only when I got home and into the shower did I realize the BIG difference in character between the current love and the immediate past boyfriend. The latter was always in a competition with me. I’m VERY competitive and I think he was WORSE. When we learnt swimming together, he was absolutely livid when he found that I was swimming faster. I didn’t know whether he was furious at me (for being lighter?) or at himself for kicking really hard but not moving anywhere. Then one day, on vacation, he tried to teach me table tennis. And before I had gotten the hang of it, he decided to thrash me at the game and bring stinging tears to my eyes.
This is not to say that the ex is not an amazing human being – he is. In fact, he’s a great cook, public speaker and all-round nice guy (except in a competitive situation).
I’m thankful I now have a “penguin” who doesn’t skate well (yet) but will always be there to catch me if I fall.
If you are already in a relationship and don’t know where to go on ‘date night’, why not head to an ice-skating rink? It’ll be fun! 
Bring your own socks and gloves to The Rink @ JCube (#03-11) and you’ll only have to pay S$35 for two adults (skates included) – 2 hour session.
*I’d read online that jeans tend to restrict one’s movements so I wore leggings instead. You should do that too. Just don’t leave your knees exposed – someone at the rink got bloody knees this evening. Not a pretty sight. Especially not on a first date, eh?
