Grateful Heart

The Houston Roller Derby Awards Ceremony was Saturday night.  It was a formal, at the very elegant Nouveau Antique Art Bar and everyone looked stunning.  When you are used to seeing people all sweaty and with helmet hair it's amazing to suddenly see them looking like Ginger on Gilligan's Island. I wish I'd taken more photos.  Even the referees wore tuxedos.  I was excited to hear the awards, as people I voted for won things.  Notably my team mate and pal, Shocker Zulu won most improved.  She's gone from not being able to do a cross-over to pure blocking menace.  I love watching her play.  Shank, also my team mate and friend, took MVP because she is an amazing unexhaustable triple threat.  The award was accepted on her behalf as she was home getting ready for a marathon on Sunday morning - yeah, she's awesome like that.   Yours truly won the Purple Heart award for getting hurt this season and though it's the part of the ceremony where we give out the not so serous awards for things like Best Rack and Miss Congeniality, it meant a lot to me to know that people missed me and recognized such a tough event in my life.

The Universe is Slowing My Roll

Last Wednesday night, I twisted my knee funny during a roller derby drill and popped something out of place. It didn't really hurt, it was just bending in ways it didn't before and felt unstable. The next day it was swollen pretty bad and I went to the doctor. They did an X-ray and an MRI, no broken bones and I won't know about the MRI until Monday. I am off skates until further notice.

On the way home from the Boss game last night I got a flat tire. While doing 70MPH on an eight lane highway. The tire shredded and flew off in pieces. There was smoke. I wrestled the car to the side of the road just fine and called roadside assistance who upon arrival said "It's lucky you drive a big car, all that weight kept you from flipping it." Then we found a very flat spare in the trunk and had to tow the whole car home. Let this be a reminder to check your spare!

Today I am staying in the house. Should I go anywhere, I will hobble there and back. There may be beer involved.

Back on all Eight

Last night was my first night back on skates. It was exhilarating, scary, totally fun and painful. I fell in the first five minutes while executing a turn around toe stop but my body remembered how to fall and fairly quickly started to remember how to stay up. Later, I scrimmaged and crunched my own fingers pretty good by falling on them. Besides the familiar old aches and pains, I feel pretty good today.

Sat. from 2-8pm is the Bayou City Boss Fundraiser

at

Cecil's Tavern

600 West Gray

Houston, TX

There will be Boss merch, food, silent auction items, sno cones, shot block, Boss skaters, AND MORE!

Scavenger Hunt Details:
*1st, 2nd and 3rd prize trophies, winner splits the pot with the Bosse$.
*$15 pre-register up to Sept. 10 at 7 pm. Buy tickets form any Boss skater or at hrdbosslove@yahoo.com.
*$20 day-of at the door.
*Arrive @ 2 to register and gather teams.
*Teams are released @ 3pm sharp.

I have tickets and even if you live far away and can't make it, donations to the team are welcomed. :)

I Heart Bossy Women

I'm not skating this season. After July, I still have to wait six weeks until I can get back on skates and at a best case scenario that gets me up and going right at the end of the 2010 season. As a plus is gives the few off-ish months to get conditioned and literally back up to speed before the 2011 season. This has not stopped my team from including me in absolutely everything we do.

I'm not sure they know how much of a difference it makes to someone who just moved here and doesn't know a soul, to instantly treat them as family. I wasn't sure how I felt about it myself, until last night during a giant team hug my co-captain said a few words and I had turn my attention from having my arms around these wonderfully sweaty women to the crazy shoelaces in the skates gathered around my feet, to keep from getting all choked up and crying. (I know, not very tough - what do ya want I got hormones!) Let me say this, these women have made the move easier and better than I ever could've imagined.

Blonds vs Brunettes at Dairy Ashford Roller Rink

We played two 20 minute periods last night with everyone split into two teams. The rookies all made it out mostly unscathed. I jammed twice and it turned into 3 times on accident as I ended up in penalty in the second period and had to skate back into the next jam when penalty was over. This was when I was pretty sure I was going to die from exhaustion and when I didn't I considered it a win on the side of improved endurance. The pink team (my team) won and after we all went over to Big John's where I had a bowl of green beans and a beer. I am addicted to these green beans, for serious. They are garden fresh and drowned in butter with sprinkles of garlic, salt, and rainbow - unicorn - happiness.

Yes, I am wearing my Diva shirt, it was ok, it the right color pink for the team and it had my name and number already on it (I represented a little. Holla - Viva la Divas!)

Tonight

This is what I'll be doing tonight. It'll be blonds vs brunettes aka pink vs black. I am on the pink/blond team tonight. Send us some good juju so that we all play hard and all (both teams) make it out in one piece. There will be a bake sale and hopefully we'll pack the house and make gobs of money for our travel team to get to Nationals. (I'll call you after wards and let you know I'm ok mom.)

Hard

Remember the scene in Conan the Barbarian where Conan is turning the big wooden spindled thing. What the heck - was it a well they were digging? A mill? Maybe it was just a torture device, anyway it's what makes him into Conan The Barbarian and then he's muscle-y and can't be beat. Well, Houston Roller Derby is kicking my ass like that and when I am on the 73rd pushup and my arms are threatening to go on strike and send my nose straight into the floor, I think of this scene and how I will be able to lop off Jame Earl Jones' head with one swipe at the end of these next few months of practices. I'll be loosing weight on two fronts; through the sweat valve that turns on by simply moving while in Texas and my inability to lift a fork to my mouth after practice. I'd like to post a before and after picture but I can't lift a camera. Also, I think HRD doesn't stand for Houston Roller Derby - it's just meant to be pronounced "hard."

(I looked it up - it's called "the wheel of pain" fitting with it's counter clockwise motion.)