What did I do when I didn't speedskate?

I was a new grad in respiratory care at the University of Washington Medical Center, and had to work the night shift. Most of my shifts started about 30 minutes after each speedskating session began, so I had to resort to skating in solitude without any technical advice. That September, in the fall of '01, I enrolled in a registered nursing program at Seattle Central Community College--the college I attended for my AAS in Respiratory Care. I had already been active as a volunteer firefighter and due to firefighting being viewed in a different light in the days post-9/11, I felt privileged to be part of North Highline Fire District in White Center, a suburb of Seattle. In addition to full-time at the UWMC and SCCC, I was part-time at Northwest Hospital and Virginia Mason Medical Center's Department for Hyperbaric Medicine, and shared the responsibility of providing the needs of an invalid in our home. In March of '02, I became so depressed from the over-committment of school, work, and obligations at home. I wound up not having time for any form of exercise for 15 weeks the winter of '01-'02. In addition, we had a leak in the roof over our garage, and despite all the work I did, I could not afford to pay a contractor to fix it, so I worked under a tarp for a week to install new OSB sheets, tar paper, and composite shingles. It was a professionally done job, but only at the cost of materials. (Thanks, Dad, for letting me help do those roofing jobs during the summer months in Bethlehem, PA!) I quit school, as I was already earning just two dollars an hour less than I would as a nurse, and quit the fire dept. My Lieutenant was very understanding of my situation and praised me for choosing priorities in my life. Our live-in had peacefully passed away in December and I quit my job at the UWMC. My wife supported me in my decisions--even when I was so busy, but was of course, quite pleased that I made these choices to make her and my exercise my priorities again. I now had plenty of time to skate, and work a little overtime.