Posts filed under 'roller derby'
After months of wondering, I’m pretty sure my knee will someday soon not send electric currents of pain through my leg when I fall. That the pain limited to “when I fall” and not “when I walk or sleep or stand up after sitting for too long” is amazing to me.
After a reminder from a friend to be honest with myself about my intentions and fears regarding derby tryouts, I’ve found it surprisingly easy to apply that honesty to the rest of my life. The results have been mixed, but mostly positive.
On that note, I’ve learned that asking direct questions and not accepting half-assed responses sometimes gets you the answer you expected but didn’t particularly want.
I have more faith in my acupuncturist than in my HMO. If he did pap smears I’d never go back to Kaiser again. I’m kind of glad he doesn’t though… that would be creepy.
Hope is amazing, fragile and frightening.
Derby and the people I’ve met through it save my soul on a daily basis.
I can live without gluten, sugar, booze and yeast based products. I’ll probably try to still cut out a lot of the sugar and wheat, but I’m very excited to reintroduce bourbon back into my diet.
There is some form of wheat and sugar in every pre-packaged processed food I eat. Except for Amy’s Kitchen frozen foods. I want to have Amy’s babies. She’s saved my sanity.
If your refrigerator dies and comes back to life and you have to buy all new food, that may be a good time to decide to change your diet. Not, say, 2 weeks later when you’ve already bought a whole lot of food you can no longer eat. I’m looking at you cheddar cheese… you taunt me.
I can be frustratingly difficult towards my boyfriend. I am grateful that he is patient.
He can be frustratingly difficult towards me. I hope I can show him the same kind of patience and understanding he shows me.
We can cook an entire Thanksgiving meal for five people and not kill each other. Not even once.
If you’re going to slice your finger open, best to do it the day after Thanksgiving.
I just might want to be doing something better with my life.
December 3rd, 2008
So much for skating anytime soon. I possibly have a tear in a ligament or the meniscus in my knee. I’ll know more for sure after an MRI and a follow up in six weeks. I am very very sad about this and have decided that the only thing that will help is if people send pictures of their cute animals. Bunnies, cats, puppies, fish. Whatever. I’ll accept babies as well. It would help even more if the cute animal/baby in question were perhaps holding a sign of encouragement. Am I asking too much? Maybe. But maybe so was Kennedy when he wanted the US to go to the moon.
Tags: knee, roller derby, sad
September 10th, 2008
Tryouts for sub pool were yesterday. I did not move up.
Am I pissed? OH YEAH. 90% at myself and 10% at the universe and everything in it.
Did I do everything I could to make it through? Probably not. But by the time I realized that it was too late.
The upside? I don’t ever want to be this angry at myself again. It’s not pretty. I know what I have to do and it involves a lot of hard work and skill repetition. It’s going to be like an 80s movie montage over here until the next tryouts. I am going to punch the next tryouts in the face. It’s going to be awesome.
The other upside? I’m going to go to Target after work and have some retail therapy. Sub pool may be out of reach until the next round, but pretty new shoes, you will be mine.
Tags: angry, roller derby
August 25th, 2008
I will be going to Rollercon from Thursday through Sunday.
The weekend after I get back, I will attempt to make chocolate bread.
I’m skating. A lot. And getting better. New date for tryouts is in about three weeks. I’m planning on making sub-pool. Rar!
(I also have a plan b… you know… staying in fresh meat. But I really don’t wanna.)
Tags: baking, roller derby
July 29th, 2008
If, just a suggestion, you made yourself acquainted with things like “the gas pedal” and “second gear” perhaps it wouldn’t have taken you twice as long to get to your destination as it should have. THREE of your fellow route drivers passed you.
And, you suck.
Tags: bus, public transportation, slow, suck
June 27th, 2008
Check out my rockin’ hand bruise! Yay! I did three hours of skating today: regular practice and an hour of training with one of the vets before. And after I went out to dinner and margaritas with a friend visiting for 26 hours from Seattle and his school buddy. Hi Ian! And now I kinda wanna die. Yay!
Seriously. I’m so happy to be back skating. I wish this were a better post, but look. It’s 1am. I’m mostly just babbling out of blog-guilt anyway.
And no, I still haven’t gotten a camera yet. But I just ordered some outdoor wheels! Yay!
Tags: margaritas, roller derby, sexy bruise time, tired, yay
April 30th, 2008
Buttersnatch Sundae: How’s it feeling?
Me (on my third lap around the track): It’s almost better than sex!
I’m back to (gently) skating. No words can describe how awesome it is.
Tags: roller derby
April 23rd, 2008
Well hello there!
I haven’t had much to say since the knee incident. I’m healing up, although I got a little over-excited about how mobile I’ve become at the bout on Saturday and spent most of Sunday with my leg pearched delicately on a pillow. I am not trying out tomorrow. I am, deep down, okay with this. I could use the extra practice and have talked to one of the vets about some private training once I’m back to normal. In the meantime, I’ll be chilling with the Enforcers, the LADD reffing crew, hopefully kickin’ ass and takin’ stats.
To make up for the lack of content, please enjoy a photo from October. We got up at ass-crack o’clock one morning to head out to Topenga to try and get some photos of surfers at sunrise. I did get a few, but I really loved this sign across the street from the beach. Click the pic for a link to the set.
Tags: beach, knee, photos, roller derby, sprain, topenga
April 14th, 2008
– I am freakin’ full of rage today. Rarrr. Rarr. I bet you can feel my rage through the Internets.
– I am also very tired. I haven’t really slept well since Saturday when I slept all day. Probably contributing to massive rage issue.
– Also, also, my eye is twitching like I’m stressed out or something.
– On a note that’s possibly related to all of this, tryouts for derby are on April 15th.
Make of this list what you will. I am too tired to analyze it.
––––
I offered to let the boyfriend try to get to second base with Scarlet Johansen should he ever have the opportunity (and given the way that the holllywood types have been showing up at derby, its totally within the realm of possibility). He’s been cursing his social awkwardness ever since the offer has been made. I was just being funny, but the whole conversation got me thinking.
Do kids in other countries use culturally appropriate sports metaphors for touching a girl’s boobies? I’m sure there’s a good “I knocked her wicket right off” joke in there somewhere. See above about the tired.
March 27th, 2008
I want to hump them. They are so sexay and grippy and lovely.
Let me back up to the wheels that came with my skates, for anyone who may be reading this who might be interested in a starter derby package.
STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM PINK SURE GRIP ZOOMS.
Also, apparently the green ones. The red ones, for some reason, don’t seem to be giving people problems.
The pink Zooms are very very hard and slippery. They have what seem to be extra deep groves that pick up every speck of dirt on the track. I’ve been spending 45 minutes after practice to scrape the accumulated gunk out of the wheels with a variety of tools and they’re still not clean. Skating on these wheels is like riding in a car with no suspension. You feel every tiny crack on the infield (and forget about the bigger ones) and where each panel of the track meets the next. You get 0 traction in your stride.
The Witch Doctors though… they’re like skating on grippy fast clouds. I’m gonna have their little blue “VooDooThane” babies. All 8 of them.
Tags: roller derby, wheels
March 18th, 2008
Dear Track,
We really have to stop meeting like this.
I appreciate the way your slopes hurtle me into the straights when I can remember to skate the track and push through the turns. I cherish your rail, which guards me from being flung out of the corners. In fact, I am even grateful for your cushy, smooshy masonite, without which I would be left to fling my ample ass onto less forgiving surfaces such as concrete or hardwood.
But seriously, Track…
It’s not you. It’s me. My left thigh has been drawn to you like cats to a laser pointer for the last two weeks. I can’t take it anymore. I’m losing sleep, literally. Like, I can’t sleep on my left side and I’m a toss-turn sleeper. I’m putting my skate down, Track (and then picking it up again… over and over… ’cause that’s how derby works) and vowing to end this torrid affair you’re having with my thigh. It will be hard, I know. It is so meaty and luscious, what track wouldn’t want to gobble that thigh up? But I know if I bend my knees and stay low and stick my ass out like I’m pooping on the track, I can put an end to my thigh’s fascination with your lovely gray surface. Also, I’m calling in reinforcements.
<3 <3
me
Tags: bruises, roller derby
March 12th, 2008
Hello!
So far the outcome of the water debacle is Purse = Fine, Camera = unsure still, but not holding out hope. I’m going to put my spare battery in and try to charge it tomorrow and hope for the best. If not, I have just enough credit card points left to get me a new one from the evil blue and yellow store… I believe Mir refers to it as “Excellent Purchase”? The more I try and boycott them, the more they suck me back in. Bastards.
On the derby front… I have been “track cleared” but not “all skate cleared.” What this means is that when the track is free, I can, with another person for safety, go and skate on it. I cannot participate in the league-wide all skates. While I’m not a danger to myself or others, the trainer I talked to is pretty sure I will get my ass handed to me and wants me to get “a little more confident.” I’m not arguing with her. All skate scares the ever-loving hell out of me, and while I want to participate to get over my fear… you know… sometimes the fear is there for a reason.
I’m at that weird point in activities where I start to plateau and get bored. I really don’t want that to happen with derby. When I started I had so few expectations of what I was going to be able to do that when I started succeeding it felt great. The successes are harder to come by now, which means I need to push that much harder to get them. Hopefully I can get my sad-sack self motivated to get to the track on non-fresh-meat days and actually make myself do the hard things. Oh, transitions! I hate you and your friend “skating backwards”! But I will CRUSH you.
Tags: camera, oh noes, roller derby, teh suck
March 11th, 2008
After much deliberation and friend-polling, I made a hasty decision in seconds and disregarded everyone else’s opinion. Because opinions? They’re like assholes. Everyone’s is different, ya know?
Anyway, my derby name is Tilda Whirl. And I think its fucking awesome.
And if you don’t, I don’t particularly care.
Tags: roller derby
March 6th, 2008
Its true. And kind of weird. But I’m okay with that.
Also, I’m taking a picture a day for a year. So is Scott.
January 23rd, 2008