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!
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.
Rio played in a chess tournament on Saturday and he befriended the boy shown here, who brought a Pirates of the Caribbean set. They played in between rounds for fun. Rio didn’t win any of his matches, but he was a really good sport about it and that was a relief. We had a discussion about sportsmanship before the tournament, because this has been a problem area for him lately. I told him that I would be proud of him if he won, but I would be even more proud if he lost graciously. And he did!
It was a humbling experience for him. My dear Rio is one cocky little dude and I tried to warn him that he would be playing against chess fanatics who eat, sleep, and breathe chess. Sure enough, he was beaten in the first round by some kindergarten prodigy. But he took it all in stride and I honestly think that it was an excellent experience for him. He needs to learn to cope with disappointment because it’s a big part of life, like it or not.
Rio’s no slouch, and he can play a decent game of chess. But he doesn’t take the time to plot out a strategy. He’s impulsive so planning isn’t one of his strong points. The kids in that tournament were mostly all chess club regulars and devote quite a bit of their free time to playing and thinking about chess. Rio was a bit of their league but he played well enough. And like I told him, the only way to get better is to play against people who are better than you.
I can’t be sure but judging by the subdued atmosphere, I’d bet that Rio was the only ADHD kid there. I’d also bet that he’s the first kid at a chess tournament to have his Harry Potter book confiscated because he was being “too rambunctious” with it.
I finally got to try out this old Polaroid and it works! I’m quite tickled with it.
I’ve been intermittently sick for the last week and instead of getting better I’m feeling worse and I’m pissed. I had my heart set on skating tonight and I really NEED to, dammit. What I’d really like to do is crawl into bed and knock myself out with some heavy meds. I haven’t been sleeping well because I’ve been waking up with my head all full of phlegm and a nasty cough. I would so love to sleep for a very long time. I really just want to feel NORMAL again so I can get on with my life.
Steve and Emily filmed this short for the Gimme Truth competition for True/False and I did the editing. I think it turned out pretty well, for a bunch of amateurs:)
You decide: is it 100% true or 100% false? Don’t tell me, though. It’s a secret.
UPDATE: On second thought, I yanked the video until after the competition. I don’t want to hurt our chances and it occurred to me that I might jeopardize our eligibility by making it public before the contest. I’ll put it back up when it’s over. The contest is March 2nd.
OK, the video is back up. It wasn’t selected as one of the 10 finalists for Gimme Truth, so we can go ahead and release it.
