Monday, August 29, 2011
Asa Spades - Playing the hand I've been dealt: Working towards a new season and a new butt...
Asa Spades - Playing the hand I've been dealt: Working towards a new season and a new butt...: As our new season starts Monday September 5th, and I am trying to get our league and not in the least myself ready for it derby work seems ...
Working towards a new season and a new butt...
As our new season starts Monday September 5th, and I am trying to get our league and not in the least myself ready for it derby work seems to rain down on me like Niagara Falls. It seriously feels like there is no end to all these tasks. But I cannot shake the feeling, that part of me makes these tasks up just to not let go, yet.
While dividing my tasks among the new boardmembers and chiefs of committee I stumble upon missing links, loose ends and the traces of my recent derby depression still whispering of time and efforts wasted.
But if anything I am one stubborn girl, so I am putting my money where my mouth is. Or die trying.
Hereby I promise myself the following:
This week I will finish all the stupid tasks that I've given myself.
This week I am not yet allowed to skate (My physical therapist basically said; 'Sure you can go skate. If you don't mind having to spend another four weeks in therapy and your recovery set back a few weeks more.' Right. Got that message, thank you.) but I am hosting a basic skating skills class tonight, which should get my derby blood flowing again.
Today I started my famous diet (gotta love those cardboard shakes and soups that taste like hot tears with ketchup) as I really need to shed those extra pounds.
This week I will bike to work every darn day (because sadly that is the only exercise I am allowed, and guess what, I HATE biking)
This week I will make a reasonable schedule of hours I allow myself to spend on derby for the next month. (Not only am I rationing my food, but also my time. It is all I can do to stop myself from going completely nuts.)
This week I will drive to Solingen (Germany) and Malmö (Sweden) to officiate and announce derby bouts and I will enjoy it dagnabbit!
This week I will be very hard on myself when it comes to not being so hard on myself.
This week is the first step towards a happier, healthier me and, let's not forget, a but I can flaunt. At any occasion. Because basically, that's all a girl needs. ;)
While dividing my tasks among the new boardmembers and chiefs of committee I stumble upon missing links, loose ends and the traces of my recent derby depression still whispering of time and efforts wasted.
But if anything I am one stubborn girl, so I am putting my money where my mouth is. Or die trying.
Hereby I promise myself the following:
This week I will finish all the stupid tasks that I've given myself.
This week I am not yet allowed to skate (My physical therapist basically said; 'Sure you can go skate. If you don't mind having to spend another four weeks in therapy and your recovery set back a few weeks more.' Right. Got that message, thank you.) but I am hosting a basic skating skills class tonight, which should get my derby blood flowing again.
Today I started my famous diet (gotta love those cardboard shakes and soups that taste like hot tears with ketchup) as I really need to shed those extra pounds.
This week I will bike to work every darn day (because sadly that is the only exercise I am allowed, and guess what, I HATE biking)
This week I will make a reasonable schedule of hours I allow myself to spend on derby for the next month. (Not only am I rationing my food, but also my time. It is all I can do to stop myself from going completely nuts.)
This week I will drive to Solingen (Germany) and Malmö (Sweden) to officiate and announce derby bouts and I will enjoy it dagnabbit!
This week I will be very hard on myself when it comes to not being so hard on myself.
This week is the first step towards a happier, healthier me and, let's not forget, a but I can flaunt. At any occasion. Because basically, that's all a girl needs. ;)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Starting over
My baby is growing up –and so am I, I hope…
Right after getting back from RollerCon, night fell upon my Derby Life. Being founder and president of a starting league –we just finished our first season- was no longer a challenge I was willing to take on. It was something I started to loathe. It sucked up time, effort and energy and all I felt I got back was complaints, frustration and stress. My body started to protest as well. Heavily. I lost sleep, got major back-, neck- and headaches and gained a pound or 20 in a matter of weeks.
I tried to find comfort in food, television and naps, but all it did was make me feel worse. I even went to see my physician, but he just gave me a huge stash of valium. Right. Valium, to me, who won’t even take ibuprofen unless there is a limb falling off of my body. But I was at wits end, and sleep deprived to the point where I started hallucinating, so I took one and went to bed.
Ever slept while having a panic attack and breathing problems? It’s HELL. I had the scariest dreams ever and woke up in a sweat wanting to never sleep again. Long story short; that was the last of them pills I’ll ever be taking.
I needed to get out of this, snap out, get back to normal, start enjoying things again. Most of all I longed to enjoy derby again. But my body ached and my morale had left me. I went to see my physical therapist who basically told me I had cramped up in every possible way, meanwhile damaging my spine and pelvis, and that, while she would try to get me back in shape I needed to address my problems, for this was all caused by my stress. Great. I knew that, I just didn’t know how. Meanwhile I had her bend and slap the bejeezus out of me in order to get back to the point where I could at least walk without pain.
During summer break, my league had set up some summer clinics, a few of which I had volunteered to coach. I dreaded them. But I am a good girl, so I did my preparations and dragged myself to the first one.
And I guess it was there that I realized why I had agreed to throw my life away and marry derby almost a year ago now. There were a lot of new girls who had just joined our Fresh Meat group, some two weeks before summer break. And their hunger, enthusiasm and joy made me remember mine. And made me remember that if anything, I could give them what they were after; Derby Love.
So instead of kissing derby goodbye forever –which I had secretly decided on, while eating a tub of Ben & Jerry’s some days earlier – I decided to welcome her back in my life. But not unconditionally. I needed to see my baby, this league, as it was; an adolescent growing to be a beautiful lady, and treat her as such. I needed her to take responsibility, but she needed to get some in order to do that. I needed to treat her with respect and welcome the friends she had made in her first year.
So I started to really delegate, not just on paper, but for real. Over the past few weeks I’ve been carrying the binders, reports and other paraphernalia I had hoarded in my house towards new homes and new moms and dads. It was a relief. I was glad to see that there were others that cared for my baby as much as I did. Today I finished cleaning out the digital derby mess I made, and tomorrow the last of my burden will be mailed to their rightful new owners.
So now it is time to take a good thorough look at me. The stress may have been taken care of, but the body is very much out of shape. So after this weekend (I could never start anything on a Thursday, that just feels wrong) I am back in the gym, on the track and in the physical therapists hands. I am back to working my ass into those booty shorts, and back on my quest to become an athlete, and yes I am close to forty. So what?
With derby, I can.
Right after getting back from RollerCon, night fell upon my Derby Life. Being founder and president of a starting league –we just finished our first season- was no longer a challenge I was willing to take on. It was something I started to loathe. It sucked up time, effort and energy and all I felt I got back was complaints, frustration and stress. My body started to protest as well. Heavily. I lost sleep, got major back-, neck- and headaches and gained a pound or 20 in a matter of weeks.
I tried to find comfort in food, television and naps, but all it did was make me feel worse. I even went to see my physician, but he just gave me a huge stash of valium. Right. Valium, to me, who won’t even take ibuprofen unless there is a limb falling off of my body. But I was at wits end, and sleep deprived to the point where I started hallucinating, so I took one and went to bed.
Ever slept while having a panic attack and breathing problems? It’s HELL. I had the scariest dreams ever and woke up in a sweat wanting to never sleep again. Long story short; that was the last of them pills I’ll ever be taking.
I needed to get out of this, snap out, get back to normal, start enjoying things again. Most of all I longed to enjoy derby again. But my body ached and my morale had left me. I went to see my physical therapist who basically told me I had cramped up in every possible way, meanwhile damaging my spine and pelvis, and that, while she would try to get me back in shape I needed to address my problems, for this was all caused by my stress. Great. I knew that, I just didn’t know how. Meanwhile I had her bend and slap the bejeezus out of me in order to get back to the point where I could at least walk without pain.
During summer break, my league had set up some summer clinics, a few of which I had volunteered to coach. I dreaded them. But I am a good girl, so I did my preparations and dragged myself to the first one.
And I guess it was there that I realized why I had agreed to throw my life away and marry derby almost a year ago now. There were a lot of new girls who had just joined our Fresh Meat group, some two weeks before summer break. And their hunger, enthusiasm and joy made me remember mine. And made me remember that if anything, I could give them what they were after; Derby Love.
So instead of kissing derby goodbye forever –which I had secretly decided on, while eating a tub of Ben & Jerry’s some days earlier – I decided to welcome her back in my life. But not unconditionally. I needed to see my baby, this league, as it was; an adolescent growing to be a beautiful lady, and treat her as such. I needed her to take responsibility, but she needed to get some in order to do that. I needed to treat her with respect and welcome the friends she had made in her first year.
So I started to really delegate, not just on paper, but for real. Over the past few weeks I’ve been carrying the binders, reports and other paraphernalia I had hoarded in my house towards new homes and new moms and dads. It was a relief. I was glad to see that there were others that cared for my baby as much as I did. Today I finished cleaning out the digital derby mess I made, and tomorrow the last of my burden will be mailed to their rightful new owners.
So now it is time to take a good thorough look at me. The stress may have been taken care of, but the body is very much out of shape. So after this weekend (I could never start anything on a Thursday, that just feels wrong) I am back in the gym, on the track and in the physical therapists hands. I am back to working my ass into those booty shorts, and back on my quest to become an athlete, and yes I am close to forty. So what?
With derby, I can.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Coming to Rollercon - Day Nine - Ok, so there is more to tell, and I can't sleep anyways
Lots and lots more!
What I thought would be a relatively mellow EMT shift turned out to be the most hectic shift I've had until now!
To sum it up;
Lots of twisted ankles, swollen knees, a couple of nosebleeds, a case of severe dehydration, a concussion, and a scary fall with what looked like a possible neck fracture, but what turned out to be -thank the lord- a good hit with a concussion for Rex Havoc. I had a lot of help from San Diego's Hose Her Down, who is awesome and probably could have done it all without me. And of course Sweetie who has really worked her butt off this week and was always at the right place at the right time. Oh heck, every single EMT, volunteer, announcer, manager, ref and helping hand at Rollercon was amazing. Thank you so much for making this week the so much more than I expected!
After the shift, I dwelled by the vendors rooms, like a beggar hoping for scraps, that of course, were not there. I did stumble across Krissy Krash though -if you don't know her, crawl up from under that rock and look her up, she is an amazing skater AND coach for Derbalife. And guess what Holland; Derbalife is coming your way soon! And that is AWESOME! Got it? AWESOME!
So after my beggars round, I went to find Whip who was at the DBC track as Buttblock and Myagi had entered the open scrimmage! I have video footage of that, but it is too big to upload, so I'll try to compress it at home and put it here later. Just trust me on this; even though they were both knackered after this intense week of practice and partying, they ROCKED!
After cheering them on and yelling ourselves silly, Whip, High-D and me went for dinner. Whip and I had a copious Indian meal, which I couldn't even finish, while High-D stuffed herself with fried noodles and broccoli. Then High-D went off in search of 'More Southern Comfort' as she stated and Whip and I wandered through the casino, crazy tired, on our way to get after dinner coffee and tea. When we got near the pub, we were stopped by WundaMike who was talking to some other announcers and EMT's. We soon heard of an announcers party at the DNN suite, so off we went!
The suite was proof that this hotel does not just have uncleaned, smelly rooms with poop floating in the tub. There was a nice living room set up, with a bar AND they had Rockband installed! (Courtesy of Hurt Reynolds) Soooo with free drinks, the best people ever in the house AND music to play, the party soon was on its way. Best quote of the night -according to Buttblock- 'That is not a mic stand, those are my boobs!'
Sadly, I had to leave early as my flight is due early tomorrow morning, and though I am already sad that Rollercon is over, I am also very ready to go home. So I guess I am putting my laptop away now, and get into this unmade bed for the last time, so Sweetie and I can fall asleep to the sound of some crappy old comedy or soap episode. Next time we talk, I will be back home, missing Vegas, but on my way to help making Derby as huge in Holland as it is in the states...
What I thought would be a relatively mellow EMT shift turned out to be the most hectic shift I've had until now!
To sum it up;
Lots of twisted ankles, swollen knees, a couple of nosebleeds, a case of severe dehydration, a concussion, and a scary fall with what looked like a possible neck fracture, but what turned out to be -thank the lord- a good hit with a concussion for Rex Havoc. I had a lot of help from San Diego's Hose Her Down, who is awesome and probably could have done it all without me. And of course Sweetie who has really worked her butt off this week and was always at the right place at the right time. Oh heck, every single EMT, volunteer, announcer, manager, ref and helping hand at Rollercon was amazing. Thank you so much for making this week the so much more than I expected!
After the shift, I dwelled by the vendors rooms, like a beggar hoping for scraps, that of course, were not there. I did stumble across Krissy Krash though -if you don't know her, crawl up from under that rock and look her up, she is an amazing skater AND coach for Derbalife. And guess what Holland; Derbalife is coming your way soon! And that is AWESOME! Got it? AWESOME!
So after my beggars round, I went to find Whip who was at the DBC track as Buttblock and Myagi had entered the open scrimmage! I have video footage of that, but it is too big to upload, so I'll try to compress it at home and put it here later. Just trust me on this; even though they were both knackered after this intense week of practice and partying, they ROCKED!
The suite was proof that this hotel does not just have uncleaned, smelly rooms with poop floating in the tub. There was a nice living room set up, with a bar AND they had Rockband installed! (Courtesy of Hurt Reynolds) Soooo with free drinks, the best people ever in the house AND music to play, the party soon was on its way. Best quote of the night -according to Buttblock- 'That is not a mic stand, those are my boobs!'
 |
| Myagi and Buttblock going aaalllll out! |
 |
| Rock it baby! |
 |
| Good to know that even in Vegas I still look like an ass when I'm belting things out. |
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| This is THE band. Like THE DNN... |
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| Oh yeah! |
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| I take singing way too seriously, I should get over myself, no, REALLY |
Sadly, I had to leave early as my flight is due early tomorrow morning, and though I am already sad that Rollercon is over, I am also very ready to go home. So I guess I am putting my laptop away now, and get into this unmade bed for the last time, so Sweetie and I can fall asleep to the sound of some crappy old comedy or soap episode. Next time we talk, I will be back home, missing Vegas, but on my way to help making Derby as huge in Holland as it is in the states...
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