Post by usaapfan on Jun 9, 2010 6:16:21 GMT 1
I caught up with Gwendal while he was driving back to Lyon from Albertville. It took a few seconds for him to get his cell phone earpiece adjusted so I could hear him. It was a few seconds of this…
“Hey Gwendal; how’s it going?”
“Hi Michele”
(Silence)
“Gwendal, are you there? Nuts! I lost him.”
Crackling sound
“Michele?”
“I just have a few questions.”
I was prepared to ask the questions and complete the entire conversation in 1.5 minutes but Gwendal had plenty of time to talk because he was driving back from Albertville.
"...Aubagne. I can't wait to be there. So as a crazy and curious AP fan, I'd like to ask you to ask Gwendal, when you will speak with him, what are they going to skate :
Q1: What program will Marina and Gwendal skate in Aubagne?
A1: “I don’t know. Marina was supposed to arrive yesterday but did not. She is now supposed to arrive on June 2.”
The show in Aubagne is scheduled for June 10.
Q2: Because of the Russian fans, which show did he mean when mentioning Russia?
A1: “There’s no confirmation of a show; there’s no contract yet. Evgeni Plushenko cannot perform either because of surgery or he’s sick. They may push it back until September. [Laughing] I have very little information because Marina is arranging it.”
“Like just show up with your skates and let’s go?”
“I hope not.”
MAP Note: Typically, Gwendal arranges the shows and negotiates the contracts on behalf of him and Marina.
In typical “Michele fashion”, I had a question about the “process”.
“Gwendal, how can you prepare for a program if Marina’s not there?
“In two days, we can have a program on track.”
“So, what are you working on during your lunch time practice sessions?”
“When I practice at lunch, I work on the basics like stamina, turns, knee bend, footwork and edging.”
The last item was not a question; it was a comment that the fans wanted relayed to Gwendal.
“And all in all, as we all agreed on POI, if you could tell Gwendal we were really disappointed by his elimination from Koh-Lanta which was really unfair but at the same time, we're happy about him skating again !!!....well, we would be grateful "
I hadn’t finished reading the comment when I again heard laughter. Gwendal was amazed at the unanimous feedback that he’s received about being ousted from the show. The comment that I read was consistent with what he’s received thus far.
“Just like Helsinki.”
“I have received thousands of messages from fans saying they could not believe that I handled it so gracefully, diplomatically “w/ elegance”. I had a lot of practice being diplomatic after losing medals.”
Gwendal mentioned Helsinki again.
“It was disappointing but I received unbelievable fan support. They wrote that I was a good sport.”
“You mean you didn’t act like Plushenko after he lost the gold to Lysacek?”
Jokingly… “I’m not sure that I would have handled it very well if I would have lost in SLC.”
"I know that I wouldn't have handled it well!!!"
I could hear the rain hitting his car and then after a few minutes, it stopped.
“You should see it; there’s fog coming up from the road. It looks like a scene from a Michael Jackson video.”
Next, I moved on to my questions. I asked about the Cooking show video. I found the clip and had sent the link to Gwendal.
“How did they pair you and Natalie together?”
“The hostess is actually a girl is a student at our school. You know…where I am working on my fifth degree? Natalie takes classes even though she is in Moscow. The girl was pitching this TV show as a project and needed two well known people so she asked us and we agreed.”
“Gwendal, do you remember the photo of your oven? It looks like there’s flames on the left side of the oven.”
“There is. The left side accommodates wood. I use it quite often. One part of the oven is gas, the other induction and then the wood. I’ve cooked for 20 people using that oven.”
I must have sounded totally shocked because Gwendal added, “Michele, I think that you would be surprised at what I can do” [referring to his homemaker skills].
“Hey Gwendal; how’s it going?”
“Hi Michele”
(Silence)
“Gwendal, are you there? Nuts! I lost him.”
Crackling sound
“Michele?”
“I just have a few questions.”
I was prepared to ask the questions and complete the entire conversation in 1.5 minutes but Gwendal had plenty of time to talk because he was driving back from Albertville.
"...Aubagne. I can't wait to be there. So as a crazy and curious AP fan, I'd like to ask you to ask Gwendal, when you will speak with him, what are they going to skate :
Q1: What program will Marina and Gwendal skate in Aubagne?
A1: “I don’t know. Marina was supposed to arrive yesterday but did not. She is now supposed to arrive on June 2.”
The show in Aubagne is scheduled for June 10.
Q2: Because of the Russian fans, which show did he mean when mentioning Russia?
A1: “There’s no confirmation of a show; there’s no contract yet. Evgeni Plushenko cannot perform either because of surgery or he’s sick. They may push it back until September. [Laughing] I have very little information because Marina is arranging it.”
“Like just show up with your skates and let’s go?”
“I hope not.”
MAP Note: Typically, Gwendal arranges the shows and negotiates the contracts on behalf of him and Marina.
In typical “Michele fashion”, I had a question about the “process”.
“Gwendal, how can you prepare for a program if Marina’s not there?
“In two days, we can have a program on track.”
“So, what are you working on during your lunch time practice sessions?”
“When I practice at lunch, I work on the basics like stamina, turns, knee bend, footwork and edging.”
The last item was not a question; it was a comment that the fans wanted relayed to Gwendal.
“And all in all, as we all agreed on POI, if you could tell Gwendal we were really disappointed by his elimination from Koh-Lanta which was really unfair but at the same time, we're happy about him skating again !!!....well, we would be grateful "
I hadn’t finished reading the comment when I again heard laughter. Gwendal was amazed at the unanimous feedback that he’s received about being ousted from the show. The comment that I read was consistent with what he’s received thus far.
“Just like Helsinki.”
“I have received thousands of messages from fans saying they could not believe that I handled it so gracefully, diplomatically “w/ elegance”. I had a lot of practice being diplomatic after losing medals.”
Gwendal mentioned Helsinki again.
“It was disappointing but I received unbelievable fan support. They wrote that I was a good sport.”
“You mean you didn’t act like Plushenko after he lost the gold to Lysacek?”
Jokingly… “I’m not sure that I would have handled it very well if I would have lost in SLC.”
"I know that I wouldn't have handled it well!!!"
I could hear the rain hitting his car and then after a few minutes, it stopped.
“You should see it; there’s fog coming up from the road. It looks like a scene from a Michael Jackson video.”
Next, I moved on to my questions. I asked about the Cooking show video. I found the clip and had sent the link to Gwendal.
“How did they pair you and Natalie together?”
“The hostess is actually a girl is a student at our school. You know…where I am working on my fifth degree? Natalie takes classes even though she is in Moscow. The girl was pitching this TV show as a project and needed two well known people so she asked us and we agreed.”
“Gwendal, do you remember the photo of your oven? It looks like there’s flames on the left side of the oven.”
“There is. The left side accommodates wood. I use it quite often. One part of the oven is gas, the other induction and then the wood. I’ve cooked for 20 people using that oven.”
I must have sounded totally shocked because Gwendal added, “Michele, I think that you would be surprised at what I can do” [referring to his homemaker skills].