HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Just because you can see straight doesn't mean you aren't drunk....
was what I was telling people when I arrived to set up the floor at Edmonds Community College for our bout. I had a sore back on Wednesday and Thursday morning I couldn't get out of bed because of horrible back spasms - which I had never had - and a pain that was so intense I could hardly breath. I called off work and got the earliest possible doctor's appointment. She said it wasn't a bad injury (pulled muscle) but that my body was over reacting. Will I be about to play in my bout on Saturday? Oh sure, it's going to take a few days - what is today? Wednesday? No, Thursday. Oh, I doubt it. You'll feel better by Monday. But I need to feel better by Saturday....I got a muscle relaxer and went home to bed. Begging my back to just relax. Thursday's practice was sitting on the side lines and getting very excited about our upcoming bout.
Friday I scheduled a massage - which felt great - kind of -they thought I was nuts to think of playing this weekend. (But it was our first travel team bout! I had to be there!) My friends at Fast Girls Skates thought I was nuts and knew what I needed to do. Star TaRiot, another skater on the Travel Team, who was also injured thought I was making the right decisions. It was injury with poor timing - an overused back that had recently helped a friend move furniture, set up bleachers for the Bellingham Betties bout, moved boxes at work, it was exertion 201 that happened to come this week.I called our captain and told her to pull me from the lineup. I couldn't guarantee that I would feel good enough to play. And I didn't want a pulled muscle to become a torn muscle. It felt bad which my rough tears on my way to our travel team potluck revealed.
Saturday I felt great. But it was a cautious great - which is how I decided that "just because you can see straight doesn't mean you're sober." Just because I can walk with out incredible pain doesn't mean I can take a hit and get up from it. Doesn't mean I can turn and see the skater behind me. I left my skates at home and headed to the bout to set up the floor and get this bout going.
And it was an incredible evening - even as a spectator. Our teams all did so well! Our travel team had only practice together for 12 hours - and though we got creamed - we did our best to hold our own. CarnEvil had been broken up (like all other teams) into Blue and Black and it was the first bout for many of our skaters. Everyone did so incredibly well. It was sold out! It was so exciting to be a part of such a fun and exciting movement of rollerderby. I was so proud, even without my skates on.
And today is proof that just because you can see straight doesn't mean you don't have a hangover (not from drinking too much but from drinking without eating after working all day to set up the bout...ooops.) And I made the right decision.
was what I was telling people when I arrived to set up the floor at Edmonds Community College for our bout. I had a sore back on Wednesday and Thursday morning I couldn't get out of bed because of horrible back spasms - which I had never had - and a pain that was so intense I could hardly breath. I called off work and got the earliest possible doctor's appointment. She said it wasn't a bad injury (pulled muscle) but that my body was over reacting. Will I be about to play in my bout on Saturday? Oh sure, it's going to take a few days - what is today? Wednesday? No, Thursday. Oh, I doubt it. You'll feel better by Monday. But I need to feel better by Saturday....I got a muscle relaxer and went home to bed. Begging my back to just relax. Thursday's practice was sitting on the side lines and getting very excited about our upcoming bout.
Friday I scheduled a massage - which felt great - kind of -they thought I was nuts to think of playing this weekend. (But it was our first travel team bout! I had to be there!) My friends at Fast Girls Skates thought I was nuts and knew what I needed to do. Star TaRiot, another skater on the Travel Team, who was also injured thought I was making the right decisions. It was injury with poor timing - an overused back that had recently helped a friend move furniture, set up bleachers for the Bellingham Betties bout, moved boxes at work, it was exertion 201 that happened to come this week.I called our captain and told her to pull me from the lineup. I couldn't guarantee that I would feel good enough to play. And I didn't want a pulled muscle to become a torn muscle. It felt bad which my rough tears on my way to our travel team potluck revealed.
Saturday I felt great. But it was a cautious great - which is how I decided that "just because you can see straight doesn't mean you're sober." Just because I can walk with out incredible pain doesn't mean I can take a hit and get up from it. Doesn't mean I can turn and see the skater behind me. I left my skates at home and headed to the bout to set up the floor and get this bout going.
And it was an incredible evening - even as a spectator. Our teams all did so well! Our travel team had only practice together for 12 hours - and though we got creamed - we did our best to hold our own. CarnEvil had been broken up (like all other teams) into Blue and Black and it was the first bout for many of our skaters. Everyone did so incredibly well. It was sold out! It was so exciting to be a part of such a fun and exciting movement of rollerderby. I was so proud, even without my skates on.
And today is proof that just because you can see straight doesn't mean you don't have a hangover (not from drinking too much but from drinking without eating after working all day to set up the bout...ooops.) And I made the right decision.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Windy Days and Dreams of Failure...
The ocean is the most obvious dictator when it comes to weather here in Seattle. The ocean will push dense fog over highways, drop misty mornings in Ballard, and toss in a wind storm here and there that will take out power for a week and show down the city - which is what's supposed to happen tonight... I have also learned not to believe the weathermen. They don't seem to get it right - in Seattle.
Today I learned that the AIDS Vaccine Trail in which I was participating failed. Harsh words but essentially it didn't work - it wasn't producing the results necessary. When I was called about it, I started laughing and telling the nurse in charge of my vaccine, "David, don't you remember, I came in for a vaccine one time and told you about a dream I had where it had failed." You're scaring me Michelle. "No, remember, you pulled us all into a room - kind of like a theatre - and told us it hadn't worked and sent us all home." (I blogged about it the dream. And I know I dreamt it because I had no reaction to the vaccine which just made you think nothing was happening.) I made a joke about it because when I find myself in stressful situations I try to find a reason to laugh. But it's not wasn't funny. They had a lot of hope for this vaccine (it was in a Phase II B for those of you who know about these things). A lot of hope slipped away - especially for all of these people in the world who are waiting for something to slow down, alter, change this deadly disease which is killing generations - which has take friends of mine who were parents, coffee shop owners, artists and teachers.
I hate it when you dream of things like this.
The ocean is the most obvious dictator when it comes to weather here in Seattle. The ocean will push dense fog over highways, drop misty mornings in Ballard, and toss in a wind storm here and there that will take out power for a week and show down the city - which is what's supposed to happen tonight... I have also learned not to believe the weathermen. They don't seem to get it right - in Seattle.
Today I learned that the AIDS Vaccine Trail in which I was participating failed. Harsh words but essentially it didn't work - it wasn't producing the results necessary. When I was called about it, I started laughing and telling the nurse in charge of my vaccine, "David, don't you remember, I came in for a vaccine one time and told you about a dream I had where it had failed." You're scaring me Michelle. "No, remember, you pulled us all into a room - kind of like a theatre - and told us it hadn't worked and sent us all home." (I blogged about it the dream. And I know I dreamt it because I had no reaction to the vaccine which just made you think nothing was happening.) I made a joke about it because when I find myself in stressful situations I try to find a reason to laugh. But it's not wasn't funny. They had a lot of hope for this vaccine (it was in a Phase II B for those of you who know about these things). A lot of hope slipped away - especially for all of these people in the world who are waiting for something to slow down, alter, change this deadly disease which is killing generations - which has take friends of mine who were parents, coffee shop owners, artists and teachers.
I hate it when you dream of things like this.
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Perfect Fall Day...
Cold rain fell on and off all morning matting orange and red leaves against the street and sidewalks. It felt like fall - where you want to curl up for a nap - especially after a weekend like this one, long days full of events both for fun and for work. we brought out a speaker, doctor, civil libertarian, social Justice advocate whose passion for women, their health care and their rights was so invigorating, so inspiring and so absolutely exhausting. We have so much to do to protect how far we've come.
Cold rain fell on and off all morning matting orange and red leaves against the street and sidewalks. It felt like fall - where you want to curl up for a nap - especially after a weekend like this one, long days full of events both for fun and for work. we brought out a speaker, doctor, civil libertarian, social Justice advocate whose passion for women, their health care and their rights was so invigorating, so inspiring and so absolutely exhausting. We have so much to do to protect how far we've come.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
I would like to be a dancer, please.
The Bellingham Betties rolled out onto the floor and put on a fantastic show of roller derby tonight! There were some incredible hits, nail biting jams, keeping the score within points of each other, many tied moments during the evening. I had been there since 11 a.m. (met friends for breakfast at 10 a.m.) setting up bleachers, the "green room", explaining how roller derby is played to friends and parents of roller girls (one women said I should be a writer... funny.) It was a great evening hanging out with some of my regular roller fans like Weedy and Jon, Papa and So Sue Me. Astro and I saw each other from across a stack of bleachers and ran to hug each other like long lost (derby) sisters. I truly enjoy derby and love, love being a part of it! The Betties did such an amazing job and put on such a good bout - I was proud, once again, to be a part of something so fantastic. At the end of the evening, I had a beer with Hotty and some of the usual suspected before hitting the road for the 85 mile trip back to Seattle.
Road trips at night are among my favorite. My car pushed 42 miles a gallon, I can see the crazies who don't see each other in their blind spots, and you look into the distance knowing there are stars somewhere above the mountains and the tree lines. You pass by certain points hoping the drunks aren't out as the Pacific Northwest fog starts to dance in. The miles tick by, the music is great, and sometimes you wish you didn't have a destination.
I got home to cats deprived of attention and a wine glass calling my name. I put on the public television as background noise poking around the Internet, when the "classic arts" program came on - showing an incredible performance by Romanian dancers. They were modern dancers, ballerinas and gymnasts. I saw long tulle skirts out of the corner of my eye and was memorized by a dance that was mostly upside down with legs in the air, looking more like living art pieces than dancers. Their strength amazed me - their costumes were fantastic. I was rivited. I was thinking of an amazing show I saw as a kid on the public channel in Denver involving animated found objects. When I was younger, I had so wanted to be a dancer.
The Bellingham Betties rolled out onto the floor and put on a fantastic show of roller derby tonight! There were some incredible hits, nail biting jams, keeping the score within points of each other, many tied moments during the evening. I had been there since 11 a.m. (met friends for breakfast at 10 a.m.) setting up bleachers, the "green room", explaining how roller derby is played to friends and parents of roller girls (one women said I should be a writer... funny.) It was a great evening hanging out with some of my regular roller fans like Weedy and Jon, Papa and So Sue Me. Astro and I saw each other from across a stack of bleachers and ran to hug each other like long lost (derby) sisters. I truly enjoy derby and love, love being a part of it! The Betties did such an amazing job and put on such a good bout - I was proud, once again, to be a part of something so fantastic. At the end of the evening, I had a beer with Hotty and some of the usual suspected before hitting the road for the 85 mile trip back to Seattle.
Road trips at night are among my favorite. My car pushed 42 miles a gallon, I can see the crazies who don't see each other in their blind spots, and you look into the distance knowing there are stars somewhere above the mountains and the tree lines. You pass by certain points hoping the drunks aren't out as the Pacific Northwest fog starts to dance in. The miles tick by, the music is great, and sometimes you wish you didn't have a destination.
I got home to cats deprived of attention and a wine glass calling my name. I put on the public television as background noise poking around the Internet, when the "classic arts" program came on - showing an incredible performance by Romanian dancers. They were modern dancers, ballerinas and gymnasts. I saw long tulle skirts out of the corner of my eye and was memorized by a dance that was mostly upside down with legs in the air, looking more like living art pieces than dancers. Their strength amazed me - their costumes were fantastic. I was rivited. I was thinking of an amazing show I saw as a kid on the public channel in Denver involving animated found objects. When I was younger, I had so wanted to be a dancer.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Going to Egypt...
It took an hour and a half for Kelly and I to buy our tickets to Egypt tonight. (Lara is out of town but we got her's too.) The sites were slow, the prices kept going up. I hitched up my theory that our IP address was being tracked and our poking around various sites was actually blocking us out of the lower fairs. We logged onto a different computer in the house and got back to something super cheap (comparatively) with only one stop (there aren't direct flights from Seattle to Cairo) and voila! We're going. We can hardly believe it. I love it! I can't wait!
Woot!
It took an hour and a half for Kelly and I to buy our tickets to Egypt tonight. (Lara is out of town but we got her's too.) The sites were slow, the prices kept going up. I hitched up my theory that our IP address was being tracked and our poking around various sites was actually blocking us out of the lower fairs. We logged onto a different computer in the house and got back to something super cheap (comparatively) with only one stop (there aren't direct flights from Seattle to Cairo) and voila! We're going. We can hardly believe it. I love it! I can't wait!
Woot!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Fall...
It's been a very cold and chilly week - the heat as been turned on every night this week and the trees are making an earnest effort to change colors along some of my more familiar streets. I love fall, for the reasons most people do - bright colors, sweaters, hot chocolate, tea, totty, evenings curled up watching a movie, windy days, brisk hikes, cool rains, dramatic skies filled with billowing clouds, and that feeling of change which makes me want to get rid of the summer stuff I didn't wear, file that box of papers and toss things I haven't used.
And that's what I'm doing tonight. After weeks of go-go-go, I'm taking an evening to be quiet, do laundry, sort thru the junk mail, hang out with kitty friends and get to bed at a reasonable hour on this windy fall evening.
It's been a very cold and chilly week - the heat as been turned on every night this week and the trees are making an earnest effort to change colors along some of my more familiar streets. I love fall, for the reasons most people do - bright colors, sweaters, hot chocolate, tea, totty, evenings curled up watching a movie, windy days, brisk hikes, cool rains, dramatic skies filled with billowing clouds, and that feeling of change which makes me want to get rid of the summer stuff I didn't wear, file that box of papers and toss things I haven't used.
And that's what I'm doing tonight. After weeks of go-go-go, I'm taking an evening to be quiet, do laundry, sort thru the junk mail, hang out with kitty friends and get to bed at a reasonable hour on this windy fall evening.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Coming full circle
My older brother Mark arrived in from Portland yesterday afternoon heading out of Seattle on Thursday morning flight... Are you free? Can you move that meeting? Let's hang out! After having taken 3 days off Deep in the Heart of Texas, my head was spinning but we took off on the town (after seeing up for a work meeting), scooted to the Chapel (old funeral home that's now a bar) for a drink, chatted about kids, being parents, ate some dinner at the Hopvine, told some funny stories, shared some different perspectives, went up to travel team practice (which I couldn't miss), chatted about derby, and headed back to the Matador for late night brews and nachos before a quick nap Mark headed back to Cinci and I went to work. Spinning.
Tonight two of my teammates, So Sue Me and Mile High Mary, gave me flowers and a bottle of wine for all of the work in our skate-a-thon which helped us raise money for a portable skate floor (our goal was $4k and we're past $5k - yeah!) I was so surprised! It was so sweet and completely unnecessary and a bit overwhelming. Such a nice thank you. Which reminds me of my blog posting the other day about thank yous - both giving them and receiving them.
Thank You.
My older brother Mark arrived in from Portland yesterday afternoon heading out of Seattle on Thursday morning flight... Are you free? Can you move that meeting? Let's hang out! After having taken 3 days off Deep in the Heart of Texas, my head was spinning but we took off on the town (after seeing up for a work meeting), scooted to the Chapel (old funeral home that's now a bar) for a drink, chatted about kids, being parents, ate some dinner at the Hopvine, told some funny stories, shared some different perspectives, went up to travel team practice (which I couldn't miss), chatted about derby, and headed back to the Matador for late night brews and nachos before a quick nap Mark headed back to Cinci and I went to work. Spinning.
Tonight two of my teammates, So Sue Me and Mile High Mary, gave me flowers and a bottle of wine for all of the work in our skate-a-thon which helped us raise money for a portable skate floor (our goal was $4k and we're past $5k - yeah!) I was so surprised! It was so sweet and completely unnecessary and a bit overwhelming. Such a nice thank you. Which reminds me of my blog posting the other day about thank yous - both giving them and receiving them.
Thank You.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Deep in the Heart of Texas...
I would break out into song every once-in-a-while and make Megan absolutely crazy (not intentionally it just happened.) I just got back from 5 days in Austin, Texas for the WFTDA Roller Derby Championships. It was an absolutely amazing time with some seriously fantastic derby played! We had a pig roast on Friday night and Saturday and Sunday were filled with watching bouts as Kansas Rollerderby Warriors, seated forth in the western conference upset the weekend by winning the championships! Fantastic. And I will consider writing more about it when I'm feel less jet lagged and out of sorts as the temperature was 90 when we left Austin and is a very cool 50-something here in Seattle....
I would break out into song every once-in-a-while and make Megan absolutely crazy (not intentionally it just happened.) I just got back from 5 days in Austin, Texas for the WFTDA Roller Derby Championships. It was an absolutely amazing time with some seriously fantastic derby played! We had a pig roast on Friday night and Saturday and Sunday were filled with watching bouts as Kansas Rollerderby Warriors, seated forth in the western conference upset the weekend by winning the championships! Fantastic. And I will consider writing more about it when I'm feel less jet lagged and out of sorts as the temperature was 90 when we left Austin and is a very cool 50-something here in Seattle....
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