Teetering and a Thing

I read about the art of teetering recently on another blog . To quote it word for word, teetering is when you: push your limits as you become comfortable so that you are constantly teetering between comfortable and uncomfortable. This is how you know you are progressing!

By the end of my last practice I felt like the fulcrum was swaying towards the comfortable side. Today, as I expected, I really did feel like a turd in the rain. It was FUN, it was SO FUN… I mean, at least I learned from this practice that I don’t just like hanging out in my awesome looking skates… I love the game of roller derby. But I’m falling a lot and finding myself lagging behind the league skaters in jams. I know it’s probably a bit premature but I feel like I would feel better if I had a “thing”…. you know, like I’d like my “teammates” to be able to say “Blackarachnia, she’s really good at ____, we can always count on her to do _____ and that’s why she’s important to the team.” I don’t want to drag my team down, I don’t want to worry my team, but more than anything I want to be a part of the team. And I know a lot of this is just a matter of time. I can feel myself getting better at things I had trouble with before. But for now, I find I’m saying sorry A LOT. So yeah, I’m weighted towards the uncomfortable side right now. And I just don’t want anyone giving up on me. I want to scream “hey girls, look I’ve got potential!!”.

So yeah I’m feeling a bit weird right now, but I’ve gotta give myself some props too otherwise I’ll seem all melodramatic and stuff. Okay, so I knew when I started carrying roller derby insurance alongside my private and provincial insurance that this derby thing was seriously tough. After the last two practices I can say that I’ve pushed myself enough to acquire bruises on: both elbows, one forearm, the inside of my thumb/palm, my right ankle, a good portion of my right thigh, both biceps, and I think possibly my right shoulder (still waiting on it). So yeah, I fall. But I always get up, and you can count on me for that if nothing else.

P.S. Atom Poisons were awesome on the (waxed?) wood floor too.

RDWC Week #4

I’m excercise cheating for about half of this week to prepare and repair for and after my minimum skills assessment. So my schedule doesn’t exactly follow the prescribed schedule for the week. Also, I pledge to stand on one foot while waiting for every bus and elevator up until mins day. Then, after this week, I go hardcore 🙂

Monday: Roller Derby Practice

 

Tuesday: Roller Derby Practice

 

Wednesday: Today is a fun day. We want you to close the door to your room put on your favorite dance mix. Set a timer and go at it for 30 minutes. Dance, dance, dance. We aren’t talking about slow dancing either. Go wild. Get sweaty. Get crazy. 

 

 Thurday: Resting before mins

 Friday: Resting before mins

Saturday: Roller Derby Practice MINS SKILLS ASSESSMENT

 Sunday: Resting after Mins

Jam City Rollergirls for Wii

Huge breakthough

I’m not slow. There, I said it. I thought I was, but I am not. Nope, I just really suck at passing people – and yes, there is a difference. I think if I can just figure out the mechanics of getting by people, being aggressive instead of slowing down.. then I will be a force to be reckoned with. Yes, I’m awesome, you just haven’t had the chance to see it yet cause I’m too polite (or scared?) to jump the line!

2 bags of cookies, 1 fruit cake, and money for a pair of “good long johns”.

Yesterday was a fantastic mail day! My new wheels and Roller Derby Workout video arrived! Now, it’s a matter of deciding when to put the new wheels on my skates.. afterall, I’ve done all of my training so far on one set of wheels and I have min skills coming up so…. is it a good idea to switch wheels at this point??? Would it be too much work or too difficult to adjust to the new wheels in such a short period of time?  I don’t know, but if anyone does, please comment here!!

The new stuff was definitely fun, but more than that, I also had a pretty nice visit with my Grandmother yesterday. We don’t talk much, but I showed up at her house yesterday and we ended up having a pretty nice visit. This experience also taught me that if you are on a “special” diet, one of the biggest challenges you will face is encounters with a hungarian grandmother… I mean, if you have a hungarian grandmother. When I arrived at her apartment, she immediately lead me into her kitchen

Her  “are you hungry? Did you have lunch?”

Me “no I’m not hungry, I just ate a big lunch”

Her “you don’t come over here on a full stomach! I will feed you!”

Me “I should have thought first! But really, I am very full up”

Her “well, have a cookie”

Me “Oh, I couldn’t”

Her ***** BIG OLD GRANDMA EYES ***** Imagine like an elderly version of puss n’ boots from Shrek.

Me “Actually I would love a cookie!”

To which she responds by not giving me one cookie, but a PLATE of cookies. She also told me I should have told her I was coming (I never do, it’s how I work..) so she could have baked for me. So we sat down, and I nibbled on a cookie (only ended up eating about half so I was told I’m “TOO SKINNY”. Then Grandma went back to the kitchen and emerged with her own lunch, a huge plate of baked cabage rolls and rice. and TWO forks. Oh my God. It smelled really good. She brough the plate right up to MY FACE and said, “try some try some”. So I took a little bite (at least it was healthy!), and she reminded me not to eat before coming next time. This diet is hard, I still have to learn how to say no. I think I’m reluctant to tell people about my “special” diet because I don’t want to come off sounding like “one of those” grass drinking, smoothie making, tofu loving…. LIARS!

Now I’m not sure if this is a “Hungarian” thing or not, but when I go to visit my Grandmother she insists on emptying the contents of her cupboard and freezer into a bag and forcing me to bring them home. The time before last, I came home with a WHOLE CHICKEN! This time I was prepared. I have to bus a whole hour and a half to get back home from her house so thankfully this time I had a backpack to stuff the pantry in rather than bringing everything home in grocery bags. I ended up leaving with a month’s supply of home baked muffins, store bought short bread cookies, homemade cookies, and a fruit cake! Because of course I can’t say no to Grandma.

As per usual, we talked a lot about politics while I was there (which is always fun with Grandma; she’s quick as a whip and has a history book for a brain), but eventually the conversation (also as per usual) shifted to the weather.

Her: “What do you have under those pants?”

Me: *laughing*  “Um… legs?”

Her: *indignant*  “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? Why you don’t have Long Johns under there?!”

Me: “I don’t know, I never wear them!”

Her: “You don’t have a good pair of Long Johns?”

Me: “No, I’d boil to death at my office if I did wear them!”

Her: “I’m going to give you forty dollars. You go buy a good pair of Long Johns”

Me: “Oh no grandma, it’s okay, really I’m fine”

Her: “No, you buy a good pair of Long Johns. You can get them everywhere”.

So I took the money and you know what? I went and bought myself a pair of Long Johns. How could I not? Remember, BIG OLD GRANDMA EYES!!!! I went and picked up the funniest old lady looking pair I could find, ones that would make her really proud, but they still only cost like $8!!! So I also bought a pair of tights for derby (of which she knows not), which I think could SERVE as long johns.  Anyways, I’m not a saint. And then I guess the rest of the money will be spent on food since I’m “TOO SKINNY” (I’m actually not).

So there you have it 🙂 I have derby practice tonight so wish me luck.

Rolling around the Christmas Tree

I had pretty much resolved to do as little exercise as possible over the holidays. I wanted to give my leg muscles and knees some time to repair, and even moreso just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to be lazy for a while. But then this happened:

It's all about balance

 

YAY!!!! 🙂 Hubby surprised me Christmas morning with a balance board and 5 lb weights. I suppose he wants to make sure that I’ve got the right stuff come January when we start hitting each other. To my fellow derby girls; I love you, but when push comes to shove (or smash in our case) my goal is to push harder than the rest of you. 😉

And check out that awesome hoodie. It comes from Rollergirlvia my parents and is made by PivotStar…. and it probably stinks cause I’ve only taken it off a couple of time since Christmas day 🙂

After all that balancing and lifting, I’m going to need some serious relaxation… so thankfully, my in-laws provided me with about a hundred pounds of spearmint eucalyptus epsom salts. My knees and thighs are thanking you already. And, I have new books to read in the bath too 😀

Okay, so hopefully this post is coming off in its intended tone, which is in total appreciation of the support I’ve received from my entire family on this awesome journey… I love you all.

Oh and to Mel and Clay; thanks for the wine. My drinking team appreciates your support in keeping me in shape over  the holidays as well.

Knockdown Knits

So I’ve made it through another pattern from Knockdown Knits by Joan of Dark.

What derby girl wouldn’t wan’t these slinky arm socks???

Jammin’ and a Blockin’ and a little skull knockin’

You knew I wouldn’t stay away.

I love this song.

And hey, check out these earrings I found at Claire’s for just $3!!

A Sloth is a Slow Moving Creature

Last night was a pretty much a transit nightmare…. I missed my first bus (it was early.. for the record) and had to wait 10 minutes to get the next one. Ten minutes is relatively short in transit-land, but it meant that I would lose my connection. So, I took a different route… went by O-train (light-rail transit for those unfamiliar…). I made it to Carleton U and walked in the opposite direction from where I should be going for 20 minutes. Note to self, Carleton apparently does not make use of street signs. Okay, so I finally realized I had walked in the wrong direction and turned myself around. I made it to practice 15 minutes late… so I basically missed all of the off-skate stuff. After a 45 minute walk (that should have been 15), I was warmed up enough to start anyways.
Okay so this pretty much summarizes my night:

Yep that’s me.. the smiling sloth. I think it’s the slowest creature on earth…. but I’m pretty close behind. Seriously, we did some sticky skate drills and even after I got the motion down.. it was soooooo slow. Then we did pyramid drills (“it’s not a race.. it’s not a race”), and I fell behind by an entire lap pretty much every time. I felt really slow and shaky the entire practice. I also seemed to forget how to stop…. even thought I was doing well at this last week. Jon thinks that maybe I’m just scared to fall since I’m still not completely healed up yet…. maybe he is a bit right. I just felt really out of sorts, and was pretty discouraged with my “progress”.

Anyways… missed my bus to go home so I had to wait 26 minutes. Missed the connection so I had to wait another 13. Then it started to snow/hail. Then the 15 minute walk home. Total time spent; 2 hours.

Got home and reported that “I’m pretty sure I’m the worst one”; this was kindly responded to with chicken wings and beer.

Also, because of some scheduling conflicts we don’t have practice again until the 22nd… I’m hoping my outdoor wheels come in soon so I can try to keep my muscles from forgetting too much over the next couple of weeks.

Skate party!

Last night I was feeling a bit bummed about my stupid elbow. Here’s why:

What my elbow should look like

What my elbow actually looked like

So, I decided to make myself feel better I should throw myself a little skate party in my carpeted basement.

Skates on carpet. Cause I can roll like that.

So on went the skates, out came the beer (I wasn’t entirely alone… hubbywas playing video games within arms reach), and away I went. Really, I was mostly trying to get the hang of walking on my toestops because I’m told eventually this will be the way to take off quickly… so I did that quite a bit. I also practiced doing the walking-crossovers in skates…. with the stability provided  by the carpet this was a really easy exercise…. I’m hoping to encourage some form of muscle memory for when I do this on the concrete. Also, much to hubby (Jon, btw)’s displeasure I practiced my t-stops… repeatedly… like a lot… we have a really firm berber carpet in the basement so it actually is possible to do.. again I’m just trying to encourage my muscles to learn the form. And the berber is none the worse for wear. I went to the doctor this afternoon and he thinks that I’ve just strained the tendons in my arm… I had an x-ray, and no news is good news! So if the doctor is right, and I suspect he is since I’m starting to feel better already, then I should be back to normal in 4-10 days 😀

Here’s another shot just for fun… the skates are sure-grip rebel, the wheels are flat-outs, and the bearings are bones reds.

Flat outs and Bones Reds