I almost called this "Part One"... because I'm sure there will be more parts to come as we all plan on the biggest derby trip until Nationals...
Whew. It's been a rough road. There has been miscommunication that has lead to hurt feelings, and lots of me bitching, and feeling like I've been kicked out of my original hotel room, and posting on the Rollercon forums for a roommate, and finding a roommate, then realizing there's an option of sleeping on a pull-out in an SRG room...
And then realizing I've been a big ol' baby, and maybe, just maybe I should have solidified my plans instead of assuming things.
(Which granted, I thought it was a safe assumption that I would be rooming with the teammate I ordered my MVP pass and my plane ticket with... BUT. we all know what assuming does....)
So. I've begun a checklist, I'm starting my ridiculous daily schedule so I don't miss anything, and I'm getting excited.
Because no matter what happens - if I room with my teammates or if I room with Hellena Skirt from RIP Roller Girls in Cali... I'll have lots and lots of fun.
So, let's talk about this amazingly jam-packed schedule for athletic training and lecture/discussion times..
Just on the first day, we have amazing things happening.
At noon, there are literally 3 sessions I want to go to:
-Baby Got Back with Quadzilla
-Beyond the Bout: Reach them and Teach Them with Queen-B
and
-P-Derby-X with Isabelle Ringer (which requests you bring sneakers and a towel, because you're going to sweat your balls off.)
SIGH.
That's just at NOON the FIRST day.
So much to see, so much to learn, what's a girl to do??
Some of my teammates and I have decided we're going to party hard the night of the Black and Blue Ball, but we're ultimately there to learn a lot, and bring it back to the league.
I think we have a really good mix of rockin' Veteran All-Stars, bangin' Battle Broads (both veteran and rookie), and even some Derby Haag's and widows. (Or widowers, since that's grammatically correct!)
I think it's going to be a really good time...
However, while I'm at it - I'd like YOUR help compiling a list of crap to pack.
Whether you're experience in the ways of Rollercon or you're experience in the ways of shitty Vegas weather- I'm sure you'll have something to add to this!!
So far I will:
Bring my camelbak and nalgene water bottle...
And pack my gear in a carry-on.
What are your thoughts about Rollercon? Classes? Packing? Travelling?
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Derby Hurts.
I've taken 3 hard falls on my tush since I've started derby.
Yes. I remember them.
1. The first night I got moved up to the All-Stars track so we could make room for the brand new newbies. We were doing the push drill - the choo-choo train as we sometimes call it. I was the last person in line, which means I stay in skater's position and am pushed the whole time, until the last lap. Keep in mind, I was still fairly new and my sprinting/cross-over skills - and let's face it - my form = were not good. I ATE SHIT. I actually think I took one of my skate wheels up my ass now that I think about it... There's a really lovely photo on the FB, which I think I'll share with you now. (I'm a roller girl - I've jumped in a pool fully clothed, posted ridiculous youtube video responses to My Drunk Kitchen... I've fallen asleep with a trash can in my hands because I had the liquor room spins... I have no shame left.)
No, no.. Don't worry about calling me pretty - I know I am ;D
After I fell that first time, my tailbone has never been the same. I can't sit for too long, my squats/lunges are atrocious... Sandra Day O'Slaughter, the derby big sis, simply said "I bet you'll always lean forward from now on, huh?" I said, "I know... Nipples over knees..."
I am 80% certain I broke my tailbone during that fall.
2. Scrimmaging last week. I tripped on my own geedee feet, and fell on my ass... I tried to catch myself with my hand... and ended up with a sweet bruise on my palm.. and sitting out the rest of the scrimmage. This is a moment when Seven Deadly Shins would physically abuse me and say "ROOKIES OF THE YEAR DON'T NOTICE PAIN".
3. Tonight. We were doing re-assessments for Charter purposes.. to see if anyone needs to be moved up or down. On a drill where we sprint a quarter of the track, then come to a complete stop, then sprint... over and over.. I snow plowed into my second stop line.... and proceeded to not just fall on my left cheek, but also fall into the splits. This was a very FML moment. (The only time I mess up big is when the All Stars are watching!!) They cheered for me to get up, even though I was sure I was leaving a whole butt cheek on the floor...
I have NEVER fall on my tush while snow plowing. WTF.
Anyway. It feels like.. well, it feels like death. Sitting hurts. Standing hurts. Walking hurts...
Who knows. Maybe I didn't break my tail bone the first time.. maybe I did it this time. But it's not a bone hurt. It's a muscle hurt. Which is the most geedee bizarre feeling evar.
I honestly have no idea if this is a strain or a tear or a giant deep bruise...
So I, of course, googled that shit.. and common sense is all I found...
Oh, cool, Livestrong.. something a derby girl would never think of! RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.. plus a heating pad.
Who wants to rest because their ass hurts? Not this girl! SIGH. But alas, I think I may have to take Thursday night off. My butt HURTS. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Morals of the story:
1. Tuesday sucked
2. Derby hurts.
3. I cannot be the only person in derby who has an ouchie ass.
Yes. I remember them.
1. The first night I got moved up to the All-Stars track so we could make room for the brand new newbies. We were doing the push drill - the choo-choo train as we sometimes call it. I was the last person in line, which means I stay in skater's position and am pushed the whole time, until the last lap. Keep in mind, I was still fairly new and my sprinting/cross-over skills - and let's face it - my form = were not good. I ATE SHIT. I actually think I took one of my skate wheels up my ass now that I think about it... There's a really lovely photo on the FB, which I think I'll share with you now. (I'm a roller girl - I've jumped in a pool fully clothed, posted ridiculous youtube video responses to My Drunk Kitchen... I've fallen asleep with a trash can in my hands because I had the liquor room spins... I have no shame left.)
No, no.. Don't worry about calling me pretty - I know I am ;D
After I fell that first time, my tailbone has never been the same. I can't sit for too long, my squats/lunges are atrocious... Sandra Day O'Slaughter, the derby big sis, simply said "I bet you'll always lean forward from now on, huh?" I said, "I know... Nipples over knees..."
I am 80% certain I broke my tailbone during that fall.
2. Scrimmaging last week. I tripped on my own geedee feet, and fell on my ass... I tried to catch myself with my hand... and ended up with a sweet bruise on my palm.. and sitting out the rest of the scrimmage. This is a moment when Seven Deadly Shins would physically abuse me and say "ROOKIES OF THE YEAR DON'T NOTICE PAIN".
3. Tonight. We were doing re-assessments for Charter purposes.. to see if anyone needs to be moved up or down. On a drill where we sprint a quarter of the track, then come to a complete stop, then sprint... over and over.. I snow plowed into my second stop line.... and proceeded to not just fall on my left cheek, but also fall into the splits. This was a very FML moment. (The only time I mess up big is when the All Stars are watching!!) They cheered for me to get up, even though I was sure I was leaving a whole butt cheek on the floor...
I have NEVER fall on my tush while snow plowing. WTF.
Anyway. It feels like.. well, it feels like death. Sitting hurts. Standing hurts. Walking hurts...
Who knows. Maybe I didn't break my tail bone the first time.. maybe I did it this time. But it's not a bone hurt. It's a muscle hurt. Which is the most geedee bizarre feeling evar.
I honestly have no idea if this is a strain or a tear or a giant deep bruise...
So I, of course, googled that shit.. and common sense is all I found...
Oh, cool, Livestrong.. something a derby girl would never think of! RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.. plus a heating pad.
Who wants to rest because their ass hurts? Not this girl! SIGH. But alas, I think I may have to take Thursday night off. My butt HURTS. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Morals of the story:
1. Tuesday sucked
2. Derby hurts.
3. I cannot be the only person in derby who has an ouchie ass.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Avoiding the Burnout (through the eyes of a rookie)
We all know the feeling when we first start skating.
You're filled with glee, excitement, new ideas - you absolutely cannot wait to put your skates on your feet and get on the track with all your rookie teammates... your new drafted team...
There's a buzz. A high when you first start derby.
It's all you think about, all you talk about.
Your non-derby friends get tired of hearing you talk about derby. Your (biological) family tires of hearing you talk about derby.
Maybe the fresh excitement and busy schedule causes your boyfriend/girlfriend to tire of you...
But no one gets it unless they skate, too.
No one understand the adrenaline, the speed, the sweat, the determination.
No one understands the lessons we learn practice after practice, getting knocked down, getting back up (whether it's immediately, or crawling to our feet... or off the track so the practice can keep going while we nurse whatever chronically-injured part of our body hurts the most that day)....
No one gets it quite like derby kids.
2, 3, 4, 5 days of practice a week - plus additionals.
7 weekends in a row of derby games.
Committee meetings.
Board meetings.
Fundraisers.
Benefits.
Event planning meetings.
Email after email after email.
Not being able to hang out with skaters without the conversation turning to Derby.
Bout day.
Not getting rostered.
Getting rostered.
Injuries.
Not being able to pay dues.
Selling tickets... or not selling tickets.
Buying bout-day supplies, and keeping track of said expenditures.
Needing a bandaid because your non-skate bout shoes gave you a big ugly blister...
You get the point.
We pride ourselves on being skater owned and operated, and we pride ourselves in doing it as a league, as a team - but we get so bogged down with all the things we have to do, and we forget to enjoy what derby is about.
Last night after practice, I was feeling a bit crab-ass and overwhelmed.
Half of roller derby is not taking things personally - but I took something silly personally; it hurt my feelings and got me all worked up.
It was nothing. NOTHING. But I took it personally.
I was feeling super crabby and down about it.
So, I twittered about my stress/anxiety/stupid hurt feelings.
A derby sister/BB teammate texted me.
"Hey. I saw your tweet. Come over."
So I did.
At midnight, I drove to her apartment because I needed a proverbial ass-kicking/slap-in-the-face for being ridiculous... and maybe some coddling.
We sat on her balcony, had a few crappy beers and talked for 3 hours.
I think that what I loved best was that we both chatted our our stresses, our anxieties, our hurt feelings.. and then we moved on to real life topics.. like family, and jobs and dating.
Although we are grown up women... we're still a group of women.
We still have disagreements, we still have concerns and lots of things to bitch about..
And yeah, cutting the shit - I get a little wah-wah sometimes. I'm a girl! I have hormones! It happens!
It usually passes, and when it doesn't, I talk to a teammate.
Which brings me back to my original point - avoiding the burnout.
It's easy to get burnt out, we all know this.
It's far easier to let league business, and grievances and whatever drama there may be and derby crushes and... everything.. get you down, make you pissy and crabby and threaten to quit.
(And PS, if you don't know how that feels A, you're damn lucky and B, maybe you should get more involved in your league lol)
So. How do we avoid the burnout?
Here's, in my infinite rookie wisdom, how I think we can avoid the burnout...
-Have someone on your team be a trusted friend.. not a teammate, not a league sister.. but a trusted friend that you can bitch to, and she won't judge you.
-Talk about what's bothering you. Maybe you're being irhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrational or ridiculous... but maybe you're not. And maybe your concern is actually valid. An objective opinion could help you decide.
-Take a break. Have a derby free day. Or..
-Go skating just for the hell of it and remember why you love it. Strap on your skates and your Sonics or Sugars or whatever you're rolling on.. and go skating. Feel the wind, enjoy the sunshine, take a friend.. I used to take my old roomie, Ellie, skating with me. She'd be on her inlines, and I'd be rocking my quads, and we'd just enjhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifoying the path or the weather or laugh a lot when one or the other fell down...
-Do something physical that isn't derby. Again, Ellie used to make me go running.. I loved it, because it made me feel good, and all I had to think about was my stride and my breathing.
-Look forward to things. This month my league was accepted into full WFTDA status, something we've been working towards for a long, long time. It is a HUGE deal - we can be ranked, perhaps attend Regionals, maybe someday Nationals... SO EXCITING. SOOOOOO, I'm excited for our WE'RE LEGIT party tomorrow. It's a time to hang out with the team outside of practice/bouts/meetings. And as excited as I am for the Legit party, I am equally as excited to to street clean-up tomorrow! I love the volunteering/community development side of Derby. LOVE. I love volunteering. love love love!
-Consider the place you want to be in the league. For me, it's Rookie of the Year.. it's a spot on the All-Stars.. it's being a hard, hard hitter... Which makes me work all that much harder.
Basically... talk it out, look forward to things, and work harder...
Although the latter seems a bit ironic, it's not.
Oh, and also?
Don't take things so damn personal.. which is what I need to work on the most.
:)
You're filled with glee, excitement, new ideas - you absolutely cannot wait to put your skates on your feet and get on the track with all your rookie teammates... your new drafted team...
There's a buzz. A high when you first start derby.
It's all you think about, all you talk about.
Your non-derby friends get tired of hearing you talk about derby. Your (biological) family tires of hearing you talk about derby.
Maybe the fresh excitement and busy schedule causes your boyfriend/girlfriend to tire of you...
But no one gets it unless they skate, too.
No one understand the adrenaline, the speed, the sweat, the determination.
No one understands the lessons we learn practice after practice, getting knocked down, getting back up (whether it's immediately, or crawling to our feet... or off the track so the practice can keep going while we nurse whatever chronically-injured part of our body hurts the most that day)....
No one gets it quite like derby kids.
2, 3, 4, 5 days of practice a week - plus additionals.
7 weekends in a row of derby games.
Committee meetings.
Board meetings.
Fundraisers.
Benefits.
Event planning meetings.
Email after email after email.
Not being able to hang out with skaters without the conversation turning to Derby.
Bout day.
Not getting rostered.
Getting rostered.
Injuries.
Not being able to pay dues.
Selling tickets... or not selling tickets.
Buying bout-day supplies, and keeping track of said expenditures.
Needing a bandaid because your non-skate bout shoes gave you a big ugly blister...
You get the point.
We pride ourselves on being skater owned and operated, and we pride ourselves in doing it as a league, as a team - but we get so bogged down with all the things we have to do, and we forget to enjoy what derby is about.
Last night after practice, I was feeling a bit crab-ass and overwhelmed.
Half of roller derby is not taking things personally - but I took something silly personally; it hurt my feelings and got me all worked up.
It was nothing. NOTHING. But I took it personally.
I was feeling super crabby and down about it.
So, I twittered about my stress/anxiety/stupid hurt feelings.
A derby sister/BB teammate texted me.
"Hey. I saw your tweet. Come over."
So I did.
At midnight, I drove to her apartment because I needed a proverbial ass-kicking/slap-in-the-face for being ridiculous... and maybe some coddling.
We sat on her balcony, had a few crappy beers and talked for 3 hours.
I think that what I loved best was that we both chatted our our stresses, our anxieties, our hurt feelings.. and then we moved on to real life topics.. like family, and jobs and dating.
Although we are grown up women... we're still a group of women.
We still have disagreements, we still have concerns and lots of things to bitch about..
And yeah, cutting the shit - I get a little wah-wah sometimes. I'm a girl! I have hormones! It happens!
It usually passes, and when it doesn't, I talk to a teammate.
Which brings me back to my original point - avoiding the burnout.
It's easy to get burnt out, we all know this.
It's far easier to let league business, and grievances and whatever drama there may be and derby crushes and... everything.. get you down, make you pissy and crabby and threaten to quit.
(And PS, if you don't know how that feels A, you're damn lucky and B, maybe you should get more involved in your league lol)
So. How do we avoid the burnout?
Here's, in my infinite rookie wisdom, how I think we can avoid the burnout...
-Have someone on your team be a trusted friend.. not a teammate, not a league sister.. but a trusted friend that you can bitch to, and she won't judge you.
-Talk about what's bothering you. Maybe you're being irhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrational or ridiculous... but maybe you're not. And maybe your concern is actually valid. An objective opinion could help you decide.
-Take a break. Have a derby free day. Or..
-Go skating just for the hell of it and remember why you love it. Strap on your skates and your Sonics or Sugars or whatever you're rolling on.. and go skating. Feel the wind, enjoy the sunshine, take a friend.. I used to take my old roomie, Ellie, skating with me. She'd be on her inlines, and I'd be rocking my quads, and we'd just enjhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifoying the path or the weather or laugh a lot when one or the other fell down...
-Do something physical that isn't derby. Again, Ellie used to make me go running.. I loved it, because it made me feel good, and all I had to think about was my stride and my breathing.
-Look forward to things. This month my league was accepted into full WFTDA status, something we've been working towards for a long, long time. It is a HUGE deal - we can be ranked, perhaps attend Regionals, maybe someday Nationals... SO EXCITING. SOOOOOO, I'm excited for our WE'RE LEGIT party tomorrow. It's a time to hang out with the team outside of practice/bouts/meetings. And as excited as I am for the Legit party, I am equally as excited to to street clean-up tomorrow! I love the volunteering/community development side of Derby. LOVE. I love volunteering. love love love!
-Consider the place you want to be in the league. For me, it's Rookie of the Year.. it's a spot on the All-Stars.. it's being a hard, hard hitter... Which makes me work all that much harder.
Basically... talk it out, look forward to things, and work harder...
Although the latter seems a bit ironic, it's not.
Oh, and also?
Don't take things so damn personal.. which is what I need to work on the most.
:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)