no one can take it away from me now…
August 17, 2008 6:23 pm
I’m on the International Rollergirls’ Master Roster.
update to the dog sitch
August 17, 2008 10:50 am
Mr. Whitney talked to our neighbor yesterday (general chit-chat, not specifically about the dog). The dog is his daughter’s; she just had a baby and the dog is a little too antsy around said baby. He [the neighbor] is going to take the dog to training so that he doesn’t bark as much.
So, that’s good.
Yesterday was another derby practice; I realized yesterday while talking with one of the other women (who had a laundry list of sports in which she participates) that this is the only team sport in which I have voluntarily participated. (If our high school had had a field hockey team, I might have done that; I liked it.) But beyond that, there was orienteering and my brief foray into jogging earlier this year and that was it.
I also apparently surprised a few of the women when they discovered that (a) I haven’t been doing derby for years and (b) I wasn’t one of the experienced skaters from Buffalo come to help out the Rochesterians. That felt good (especially since one of the women who said that is awesome herself).
I also went to my first real live bout last night, in Syracuse. One of the teams from Buffalo (featuring Resident Eva and Lethal Lorelei, who skate with us here) was competing against Syracuse.
Ho-lee cow. I CAN NOT WAIT TO BOUT FOR REAL. THAT WAS THE MOST AWESOME THING I HAVE SEEN IN A REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG TIME AND I AM INCLUDING GOING TO SEE WANTED AND THE DARK KNIGHT IN THAT. The crowds, the cheering, the music…totally, totally, totally awesome.
So yeah, I am psyched.
sigh
August 15, 2008 6:29 pm
our next door neighbor has a dog in his back yard. it appears, from the food bowl and dog toys surrounding it, that it is our neighbor’s new pet.
the thing has not stopped barking for the last twenty minutes.
sigh.
Tim Gunn? he’s awesome.
August 13, 2008 10:18 am
Happy Wednesday to all, or as I like to call it, Project Runway Day Wahoo Even Though I Have To Wait Until Thursday to Watch It on YouTube. (I always spoil myself, checking out the designs on Bravo’s website and going to Wikipedia to see who was high and who was low, who is in and who is owt.) I like Joe, and Kenley to an extent, and Suede is just amusing. (It’s also amusing to watch people on message boards, when talking about Suede, refer to themselves in the third person, like THEY ARE THE ONLY PERSON WHO EVER THOUGHT TO DO THAT.)
Anyway. We found out yesterday that Otto got the teacher for second grade that he wanted, and a lot of the kids from his class last year are in his class this year. (They apparently have some big phone network of which I am not aware. I ran into one of the other mothers at the library yesterday evening and she gave me a laundry list of kids who’d gotten the same teacher as Otto.) So that’s a relief.
well, hello there
August 11, 2008 3:59 pm
let’s see. Not too much is going on here. We watched the Opening Ceremonies and were impressed the hell out (and haven’t watched anything since). Otto is in his last week of camp.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
August 6, 2008 5:49 pm
The guy who is buying Miffy is here to finish signing the documents.
a 94% derby-free entry (ish)
August 5, 2008 12:47 pm
So, to not talk about derby for once, here’s what’s been going on in Casa de Whitney.
Due to a number of various factors (nothing trainwrecky, don’t get excited) we have sold Miffy. Snif, sigh, sob, I don’t like to talk about it. We used our economic stimulus check to get a ’95 Saturn, which we have dubbed “The Red Menace” (event though it’s burgundy), which gets driven when the Vibe is in use (which is maybe once or twice a week, since I take the bus to work and all that).
Otto is still enjoying summer camp. He is very good friends with one of the junior counselors (they hold hands, sit next to each other on the bus), but he insists she is NOT his girlfriend. (She’s 14, by the way. Older ladies for the win!) Hard to believe school starts for him in four weeks. Second grade! WTF?
The Wii Fit is *so* much fun. I try to do at least half an hour every day (or at least days I don’t have derby practice). I do the yoga (and fall over on the balancy ones. Jorge told me one afternoon he’d stayed up too late the night before), the Hula Hooping, the DDR-esque thing and the short jog, usually.
Otto is getting more and more into Rock Band. He switches between bass and vocals. (I have commandeered the drums.) He’ll sing “Wanted Dead or Alive”, “Dirty Little Secret” and “Run to the Hills”. The latter one is very amusing; he’ll censor himself on the line “out on the plains, we gave them hell”, replacing the last word with “blah”. Because “hell” is a bad word, y’all.
So a little bit about derby, I s’pose. We trained last night with markers showing how big the actual official track is going to be. It’s tiny. My left leg was much more achy than usual, since we had to skate in tighter ovals than usual. (Hey, if anyone wants to design our logo, check this out.)
if’n it’s Saturday, it must be derby stuff
August 2, 2008 7:49 pm
so yeah, front page baby!
There weren’t very many of us today (Saturdays are always lower attendance) so we actually did some pack traveling and sending a jammer through the whole mess of us. We each got a chance. It’s fun. There were definitely a few times when I realized someone has fallen in front of me I have to lift my skate NOW or I will crash into her skates and fall which was exhilarating.
And, as per usual, the only injury I suffered today was when I was trying to help Otto with Dance Dance Revolution at the bowling alley, he jumped up and clocked the top of his head into the bottom of my jaw. Ow ow ow.
so my awesome husband
July 31, 2008 10:28 pm
went for a walk today (he works at one of the colleges in the area) and happened to pass the Computer Store.
And what did they have at said computer store?
It’s fun. I messed around with it for an hour or so tonight - I’m good at hula hooping. Not so good at some of those yoga poses.
I have named my trainer “Jorge”. He’s very nice to me.
psst…hey!
July 31, 2008 6:51 pm
if you go to our paper’s website and click on “Roller Derby” under “Explore Our Photo Galleries”, you get to see me in all my sweaty glory.
might as well tell y’all
July 30, 2008 12:47 pm
my roller derby name?
Queen Kicktoria.
movie review #19 > the dark knight
July 29, 2008 9:09 pm
2008, directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Patrick Bateman, Ennis Del Mar, Easy Reader, Sid Vicious, Lee Blanchard, the original Alfie, Elizabeth Darko and MY PRETTY PRETTY IRISH BOYFRIEND.
Read the rest of this entry »
your thrice-weekly derby update
July 29, 2008 10:11 am
We’d been told last week that at last night’s practice, there would be a reporter from the local newspaper and that we should dress cute. Usually when we practice, I wear my Woodstock tank top, black shorts and my over-the-knee socks (so there is fabric between my knees and my knee pads. Most of the women wear leggings). That, however, is not cute.
I realized yesterday that I have no cute derby clothes that fit. So I ended up wearing a short blue knit dress, with pink and orange flowers.
Perhaps I should pull out my dress patterns and whip something up quick.
So yesterday was hits, falls, a few whips. Otto came with me and cheered us all on.
So I’ve read a few things that suggest that David Cook was all pissed off at us Rochesterians for some reason. Sorry we didn’t scream loud enough, I guess. Sorry that no one cheered at your Kansas City Chiefs hat (but c’mon. We’re not a football town. If you’d worn a Rochester Red Wings hat, you would’ve gotten cheers). Ah well. Go out and kill a few hoboes; maybe that’ll help you feel better.
I owe you guys a buncha stuff, if I recall correctly. At the very least, a review of The Dark Knight.
so I am back from the american idols concert
July 27, 2008 10:54 pm
Gnomeloaf and I taped a bit of a podcast before, during and after the show, and when she gets that edited we’ll put it up. In the meantime, guyliner for teh win.
your derby update for today
July 26, 2008 9:48 pm
today we started doing hits. just small hip checks and forearm pushing, nothing too major. I had a few spectacular spiraling falls; I NEED TO REMEMBER TO FALL ON MY KNUCKLES AND NOT ON MY PALMS. KEEP YOUR FINGERS IN OR THEY WILL GET RUN OVER BY SKATES.
speaking of falling, I had my new pads and like my skates they are wonderful. Like falling on clouds.
heh
July 26, 2008 8:57 am
Otto is sitting at the dining room table, playing with a LEGO Bat-cycle thing he got from my sister for his birthday.
“Aw man, every time I take this piece off, this other part breaks! Dam….”
(Whitney braces for the swear word and prepares a lecture about how swearing is bad)
“….age!”
derbyrama
July 23, 2008 10:02 pm
so my derby skates showed up today. (they were not inexpensive, so I am kinda committed to this now.) HOLY COW what a difference proper equipment makes. I went a lot faster, and my legs didn’t get nearly as sore because I didn’t need to push as hard. woot indeed.
Tonight’s exciting adventure was suicides. What’s a suicide, you might ask? Well, I’ll tell you. First you need a rink about 200′ long. Lie down on your stomach at one end. Then get up, skate to the 1/3 line, fall. Get up, skate back to the start. Fall. Get up, skate to the 2/3 line. Fall. Get up, skate back to the start. Fall. Get up, skate to the other side. Fall. Get up, skate back to the start, fall.
And do it as fast as you can.
five word review of the dark knight
July 23, 2008 12:34 pm
(longer review to follow)
awesome movie; needed more Scarecrow.
yay!
July 23, 2008 7:58 am
Amber Richardson is pregnant again!
tonight in derbyland
July 21, 2008 9:49 pm
today was the first practice I attended that wasn’t at a roller rink’s open Adult Skate night, so we actually did more skill-type stuff. Stops, falls. Ripped the heck out of the cheapo pads I got to tide me over until my real pads show up. Got complimented on my crossovers (when you turn, you’re supposed to cross your outer foot over your inner foot). Got real sweaty. Realized that after Saturday morning practices, we can go in the pool afterwards. Realized that I am waaaay out of shape.
All in all, a good night.
I’d also like to state for the record that the only injuries I sustained tonight was when I tripped going up the stairs in my house and hit my knee and the tip of my left ring finger.