Archive for the ‘Derby talk’ Category

Derby talk

Makin’ Waves

July 26th, 2008
Makin' Waves

Main Street in Plevna, Kansas.

Today my team is off to Oklahoma City to face off with the Victory Dolls. I won’t be there because I’m still nursing a torn ligament (MCL), which sucks but this is the last bout I’ll have to miss. My stepdaughter, Emily, will be making her debut on the travel team tonight as Nasty Sinatra, and I’m excited for her! I can’t wait to hear all about it:)

Lessons in derby

June 5th, 2008

Back from Tulsa and fully recovered from a weekend of brutality and debauchery. The Green Country Roller Girls taught my team how roller derby is really played and it wasn’t pretty. All the same, it was a fabulous experience and I truly admire GCRG for their sportsmanship and hospitality.

Personally, I feel that I gained a lot from the experience. I learned not to let myself be intimidated by girls three times my size. I kept my skates under me, stayed low and hit them as hard as I could. I played a lot better in this bout than I did in the one previous and I gained a great deal of confidence. I can’t wait for our next bout, which is a mere 10 days away in Arkansas. It’s going to be awesome:)

LeMaire’s Cajun Cafe

May 25th, 2008
LeMaire's Cajun Cafe

Just so you know I haven’t quit posting photos altogether:)

Wicked!

May 20th, 2008
Wicked!

These are my new skates, aren’t they lovely?

I would’ve posted sooner but I’ve been sick. Just a cruddy cold so I pretty much just want to sleep a lot but otherwise I’m pretty functional.

But yeah, these new skates have made skating much more enjoyable. I can already feel an immediate improvement in my speed and agility. The wheels are a bit harder than I would have liked, but they should be perfect for the surface we’ll be skating on in Tulsa. My next purchase will be some grippy wheels. I’m already shopping around. I have a birthday in July, so by then I should have the perfect set all picked out:)

Long time gone

May 14th, 2008

Damn, it’s been a while, eh? Anyone still out there? In any case, I’m hoping to post more frequently by keeping my updates short and sweet. For now, here’s a quick synopsis of the last few weeks:

  • I’ve been skating like a fiend and loving every minute of it.
  • Played in my first bout and my team lost by a wide margin but it was definitely a valuable learning experience.
  • Got new skates! Yippeeeee! I love them so much I want to wear them all the time.
  • My knees are starting to protest this whole derby thing. My solution is to save up for better knee pads.
  • I need new wheels, too. Damn, this derby thing is getting expensive.
  • I’ll be going to Tulsa on June 1st for our first travel bout against the Green Country Roller Girls
  • I’m working my ass off in the meantime because *holy shit* I’ve played in one bout and now I’m on the travel team? I’m a little terrified but mostly excited:)
  • We have barely enough active skaters to string together a full team roster, that’s the only reason I made the travel team in the first place.

So yeah, my life is pretty much consumed by roller derby. But don’t worry, I really do have some photos to post! I’ve been shooting very little so finishing a roll of film takes an eternity but I’m getting there. I’m near the end of a 36-frame roll of high speed black and white that I bought so I could shoot indoors over the winter. Now I’m anxious to finish it so I can shoot in color again. It’s nice to be getting outdoors again.

If roller derby weren’t eating up all of my funds, I might be able to afford a new battery for my digital camera, which I’d actually like to resurrect sometime soon. It would certainly speed up my turn around for new photos and allow me to justify silly snapshots and stuff.

In fact, I’m going to post a photo of my new skates very soon. Because they’re SO pretty!

Jammin’

March 21st, 2008

Did I mention that I’ve been skating at bouting practices now? I started about 3 weeks ago after my surgeon gave me his blessing. Last night I jammed for the first time and it was FUN! It’s more exhausting than blocking, but blocking is harder, I think. Blockers have a lot going on all at once, and pack awareness is key. I know this because I suck at it and I want to get better. The girls knocked the crap out of me last night, but it was good for me. I need to learn how to take a hit and keep on skating, I go down too easily.

I wish we bouted more often. I’m impatient. I want to be a great skater right NOW.

I’ve been thinking that if I could do some foot work like Mikie Dread over there I’d be a much stronger skater. And it would be all kinds of awesome.

Hell on wheels

January 21st, 2008

It’s been a nice 3-day weekend. Saturday we celebrated Emily’s birthday with the kids and got to meet her new beau, Alex. He seems like a fine fella and if he sticks around after hanging out with all of us for an afternoon then he’s probably worthy of her;)

After some lunch and birthday cake, we all went skating (of course) and Emily worked on regaining her skating legs. She wants to try roller derby and plans to start attending beginner practices next month. So I think she’ll be spending more time at the rink between now and then, which is great! The more, the merrier! We are already well on our way to dominating the Saturday afternoon skates sessions. Small children and wobbly skaters, beware. Mwahahahahaaaa!

Sunday night derby practice was awesome. I never had so much fun getting my ass kicked, and boy did I ever. Mama Knee-Ya led the practice and introduced a new drill in which we divided up into 2 packs, and then one person from each pack took turns playing the jammer. Whoever was jammer had to break through both packs while racing around the track. It was my very first full-contact blocking drill and it was both humbling and exhilarating. I was so exhausted from being knocked down and then racing to catch up with the pack that by the time it was my turn to be jammer I was all used up. I never did get through either pack, but oh well. For the remainder of the drill I decided to focus on staying upright and blocking, and that was more than enough.

My determination to improve my fitness level has been renewed. I’m hoping to start skating outdoors soon, but this winter weather is a major impediment. For now it’s just me and my stationary bike. It certainly gets the job done, but it’s boring as hell.

Soon, however, I will have thighs of steel. Steel! Oh yeah.

Catch me if you can

January 18th, 2008

Wow, what a week it’s been! Derby practice started back up and I’ve been skating a lot and getting faster and I just keep having more fun every time. I also took my second artistic class, at which I ran into our derby coach, Coach Ken. He also coaches the local artist skate club. He surprised me by trying to persuade me to switch from derby to figure skating. I told him to ask me again in 5 years. Artistic skating is certainly harder, but it doesn’t thrill me much. I’m just doing it to improve my skill set and comfort level on skates. I’m more likely to go for jamskating. Dancing on roller skates has a lot of appeal since dancing and skating are two of my all-time favorite activities.

On Thursday evening we all(Me, Steve, Rio and Tyle plus Darelle the neighbor kid) entered a dodgeball tournament at Rio’s school, and that was big fun, too, at least everyone but Rio had fun. He was tired, cranky, and inconsolable all night, which is a shame because it was otherwise a good time.

Later that same night Steve and I went to Retro Skate and that was lots of fun. I pushed myself, trying to skate low and fast, weaving through the crowd. I got a good workout, which is a bonus. However, I very nearly broke my neck once when I collided with a guy twice my size. We both went down and he inadvertently slammed me into the edge of the wall, my neck taking the force of the blow. I heard all the vertebrae in my neck crack in succession when I hit. It’s pretty sore today but I feared much worse at the time so I think I got off lucky.

I had a consultation with a surgeon about my lump, which was recently re-diagnosed as a lipoma. He looked at it and said, “That’s not a lipoma. It’s fluid.” He thought he could drain it with a needle but warned me it might fill back up again. I wanted to find out if he was right, so I told him to go ahead and give it a try. I don’t mind needles and I’m game for anything that might work, especially since it’s non-invasive. Well, it didn’t work. He didn’t find any fluid. So he decided that I’ve probably had this lipoma all along, and I just never noticed it until I banged it up and it became painful.

You tell me, what woman doesn’t notice a fatty growth the size of a lemon on her ass?? As if.

I don’t care what they want to call it, just get rid of the damn thing already.

He scheduled my surgery on the 30th, and then all the secrets of the mysterious lump will be revealed. Stay tuned. There will be before and after pictures!

So yeah, it’s been an action-packed week and I enjoyed every minute. Now it’s Friday night and Steve and I are staying home for a quiet night. We’ll make our own fun;)

Skate jones

January 9th, 2008

I set up this blog so I could post even when I don’t have any new photos, so it’s about time I wrote something, eh? I’ve been distracted by my new facebook and myspace profiles, both of which I swore I would never have. Never say never. Due to roller derby networking on myspace and long-lost family on facebook, I caved. But using those sites has made me appreciate this one anew, because I’m a control freak and this space is ALL mine.

Lately I’ve had the constant urge to be on skates all the time. I really, really want to get some outdoor wheels for street skating. I tried it over the weekend on my second-hand rental skates and it was pretty fun, but those skates suck. Or rather, the wheels and bearings are shot all to hell. If I could just replace those with some outdoor wheels I’d be good to go.

I had entertained the notion of roller skating to work every day in good weather, but Steve talked me out of it. If I had good wheels I might consider it, though. We’ll see. In any case, I want to do some more outdoor skating.

Roller derby practice starts back up January 16th. I can’t wait!

Big Sandy and Los Straitjackets

October 8th, 2007
Big Sandy and Los Straitjackets

The Missouri Massacre derby bout on Saturday was truly a wild night. I feel sorry for everyone who was watching Mizzou football because there was way more action on the rink that night.

Kill your TV

September 30th, 2007
Kill your TV

Quick weekend recap:

Friday - Rio’s Tae Kwon Do class did a demonstration at the mall, and I took the 2 neighbor kids along to watch and hang out. At the mall. It was surprisingly fun:) Rio spent the night at the brothers’ house. Hurray for cool neighbors with kids!

Saturday - Took 5 of our kids and the 2 neighbor kids to the Arts Festival and hung out at the kids’ area. We all tried walking on stilts, and after that the boys happily chased bubbles for a while. We watched the juggler for a bit and a couple of our kids got to go on stage so that was a bonus.

Then I went to derby practice and ROCKED MY SKILLS TEST. Yep, it was awesome and I’m so glad it’s over. Now I can skate with the big kids! I can’t wait! And yet, I must. Because I fell on my swollen bruise again - just a little fall, not even a full impact, but it hurts like it was fresh all over again and the swelling got a lot worse. Now I need to stay off my skates and let this heal, at least until the swelling is gone. Hopefully that won’t take too long.

The good news is that I invested in some really good gear, what I like to call body armor, and it’s on its way. I got all new pads, including an especially robust set of wrist guards and best of all, Bumsavers! With all that protection I will be invincible!

Or at least I’ll be able to get through my learning phase on skates without getting injured on a weekly basis, eh?

[See this photo on the flickr map]

Ouch

September 25th, 2007
Ouch

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve earned my first big badass derby bruise. It doesn’t have any color yet but as soon as it does I’ll be sure to post a photo of it. It’s gonna be a beauty;)

Here’s how it went down:
I was skating with the big girls last night in the endurance skate because beginner’s practice was canceled on Saturday due to the float trip. As luck would have it, it also happened to be the first 3-hour practice session, now that they’re doing warm-ups for an hour in the parking lot, so they can skate for a full 2 hours during their rink time.

It was a tough practice but I was hanging in there and feeling pretty good about it, considering it was my first time skating with the advanced group, but by the end of the night I was definitely starting to wear out. Naturally, in the last 15 minutes of practice, during a whips drill (which I really need to work on!), Addie whipped me into the inside track and I somehow managed to wipe out hard. It happened so fast that I’m really not sure what went wrong, I just know that I hit that floor like a ton of bricks. It’s a good thing I was wearing my helmet because my head bounced off the floor, too, when I hit. I’ve got a nice ding on my helmet now:)

I got right back on my feet and I was all ready to keep skating but as soon as I stood up my right hip protested loudly. Ow! I mean, damn that hurts! Now I’ve got a big fat lump which is actually on the back and side of my upper thigh. It mostly hurts to sit down. It’s still wicked tender.

I really need to take my skills test this Saturday, though, so I hope the pain subsides. If I were to take another fall on that spot right now I wouldn’t be able to walk! And since I tend to fall quite a bit, well, let’s hope that this thing looks worse than it feels by this weekend. But hey, this is Roller Derby, so I guess I’d better just deal with it:)

In other news, Festival of the Arts is this weekend and once again I’ve entered 2 photos in the Visions exhibition. I chose this one and this one, neither of which I’m terribly enthusiastic about. I really don’t feel that excited about any of my photos from the last year, unfortunately. I certainly don’t expect to get first place again - that was a big shock - in fact I don’t hope to place at all, but I’d be pretty happy if someone buys a print. That would help me get some new derby gear. I need better padding!

Glasgow bridge

September 18th, 2007
Glasgow bridge

Saturday’s derby bout was BIG fun! The turnout was excellent and from what I could see the bout was awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of the action, though. The other junior skaters and I had volunteered to mingle in the crowd selling beer, and when I wasn’t peddling my wares I was on tiptoe behind the crowd, craning my neck to catch a glimpse of the girls whizzing by on the track. It was one of those times where being short was a serious disadvantage.

The Blarney Banshees edged out a narrow win over the Yo Ho Ho’s. It was a very close game all night, which made it even more exciting. It was lots of fun but all I could think about was how much MORE fun it will be when I’m out there on the track, throwing blocks and racing with the pack! I can’t wait:)

I also didn’t get to take a single photo, since I had such a lousy view. I had my camera on me all night, just in case, but no luck. Oh well, them’s the breaks.

[See this photo on the Flickr map]

Joe

September 3rd, 2007
Joe

Behind the bar at the Rocheport General Store. Steve’s new band, The Sand Fleas, made their debut appearance there a few weeks back. It’s a fun spot and whenever he plays a gig there I always come along. The locals are a great bunch and they don’t mind if I shake my ass when the groove grabs me;)

I survived another roller derby practice on Saturday! It was a struggle, though, because I went to the public skate first to get warmed up and as luck would have it I pulled a muscle in my thigh while practicing my mohawk turns. Doh! But I toughed it out and managed pretty well, considering. I’m already looking forward to getting back on my skates on Wednesday. I’m determined to make it to public skate that night. I know I really just need to spend more time on my skates, so pretty soon maneuvering on 8 wheels will feel as natural as breathing. That’s my goal. I’ve got a ways to go yet!

There were some girls taking their skills test Saturday so I had a chance to see what’s expected of me. It looks pretty manageable, but there’s lots of stuff I need to work on. The part where they were hopping over short little cones looked the most challenging to me. If I were to attempt that now I’d end up on my ass HARD.

[Find this photo on the Flickr map]

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