My Pod...

I am not a technophobe - I am also not one who believes technology will solve all the worlds problems - so somewhere in between - lie people like me. And it has taken me years to decide to buy an MP3 player. The last portible music player I had was my cassette player in middle school where I shared one earphone with Kathy on our way to skiing on Fridays in 8th grade. We rocked out to George Michael. It was great times.

I hadn't gotten an MP3 player due in large part to the lack of my favorite tunes being available on things such as itunes or my friend's favorite Russian website where she got songs for cheaper. But I hadn't quite moved to the whole "ripping" in your favorite music and then putting it on your MP3 player.

While moving offices, I realized how much music I had stored at work and how I had listened to these CDs until I was nearly sick of them. It seem like the time, with the better technology and access to "world" music plus my whole love affair with KEXP, to get my very own ipod. And I did. It's an ipod touch - it couldn't be easier to use. And it's already made my life so much happier! (I love music and have blogged about my whole family's love of music eventhough we're not musicans). At this point it's the first thing I do when I get to work (plug it in, turn it on) and the last thing I pack up when I leave. For the last two days I have shuffled over MIA, Vampire Weekend, Cold Play, Jack Johnson, Gloria Estafan, Angelique Kidjo, Pink Martini, the Killers, Pancho Sanchez and about 56 other artists. It just makes the sun that much brighter and inspiring. Truly.

I haven't gotten to the point of listening to it on the bus because I kind of still like to listen to the crazy people....

My friends...

The other ones - the few non-derby ones - came down this weekend from Bellingham for a beautiful, vitamin D-filled day in Seattle. Christina, who I've know as long as I worked for Planned Parenthood and Jill, who was her assistant for a couple of years, came down for the day. I started my day breaking down a floor for my league but joined after they had soul food and King Fish in Capitol Hill. We strolled around Capitol Hill, in 50 degree sunshine, gossiping, telling funny stories about our past. We headed over to West Seattle where they both said they could live, like in Bellingham, in a little tight community - looked at art, bought a purse, talked about all of our crafty endeavors. We raced over to Ballard for drink but not before buying lottery tickets to help realized dreams of opening dessert bars that served limited pastries and small savory tapas. We had a few drinks and walked over to Madame K's (my favorite restaurant, La Carta - the BEST Mexican restaurant in Seattle was packed, as always.) At Madame K's, we drank some more, ate salads and pizza and ended the night with an orgasm (hot cookie with ice cream) before they headed back to Bellingham and I headed home... where I got sucked into the television series called Heroes.

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon - with my friends.

President's Day

I haven't had this holiday off in honestly, like 15 years - since high school. I was THRILLED to have a break, to catch up on some sleep, eat breakfast at a crowded Voula's, get some tasty vitamin D at Discovery park, go shopping for an i-pod touch (didn't find one, got groceries instead), take a nap like a cat, hang out with my killer trainer Jade and eat some Robin Eggs (my favorite Easter candy.) It was a beautiful, sunny day! Woot!

This weekend was Cupid's Cabaret - an annual JCRG event. This year it was at the Anchor in Everett. We had some great rockabilly bands, some derby girl burlesque and even a team performance. Yes, the Carnies put together a choreographied piece to Sweet Charity's "Big Spender". We had three rehearsals; worked on choreograph, memorized the lyrics and even coordinated costumes (derby allots for many firsts - first time I wore both a garder belt and corset - love it!). However, we didn't anticipate being squished on a tiny stage - we were planning on being spread out on the floor in two "pods" with some of us on stage but the audience was sitting on the floor watching... so it didn't look like what we had rehearsed (does it ever) and was over quickly. In the end, it was a great group effort - we had super fun performing it and are certainly a damn cute team.

Vitamin D

So when I was in Hawai'i for James and Heather's wedding, I made a point of saying, "I need to be in the sun - I'm so vitamin D deprived!" I need vitamin D! And boy did I! According to the Seattle Times today everyone over here needs more Vitamin D!

Hawai'i anyone? Key West? I'm planning a trip next fall, early winter, when our very precious summer sunlight starts to disappear.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2004179538_vitamind13m.html

Sick. Home. Fish

So many people are sick. I feel like every time I walk out of my house I risk running into this crazy "death plague" that is knocking out people for weeks, being spread among my derby league, turning into the flu, Strep, and other terrible nasty things. I've been, on the advice of a friend, taking Airborne for three weeks now... The funny thing is everytime you walk out of the house you take a risk. Yes?

I stumbled across a friend's myspace when I was posting some information about my performance this weekend in Cupid's Cabaret (no, I'm not doing burlesque but something great - I promise) and it's a great and funny song with a refrain of "I don't think I can see what anyone else can see in anyone else but you" and it's making me incredibly home sick. Because my friends are so special at home? I don't know... It's funny how it comes every once in a while like a wave washing over the ferry crossing the Sound.

A friend of mine and I have decided that we're going to take a New Year's resolution out a step further... I'm going to make a $5 donation every time I DON'T carpool to practice, an event, whatever. She's going to do the same thing. I want to make a donation to a fish organization. It's true. I love fish. I just care about fish. I worry about the cows pooping by the stream where the fish are swimming... so if you have a fish organization please recommend them. At the end of the month, each time I didn't find a carpool buddy when I could have carpooled (e.g. going to roller derby practice, meetings, ok it has mostly to do with derby) then I'm going to donate $5. To fish. I'm takin' recommendations. Now.

Roller derby + new job = tension headaches

...is what I wrote on my comments section when scheduling my half hour massage for Sunday. It was an excess of derby, (games, scrimmages, meetings, emails, meetings) and the stress that comes with a new job, (learning it's history, mission, important talking points, etc.) that lead to a headache about every six hours - plus the fact I haven't found a minute to get to my gym. So I made an appointment to get a massage - to work out that stress. And it did. I also made my upper body completely sore. It's funny how in the Pacific Northwest, specifically, massage isn't so much for relaxing as it is for healing...


And there are great things to talk about, including the Caucus, but after a hot epson salt bath, sleep is calling...

Though if you're really interested, here's the University of Washington's write up about the Rust Riot: http://thedaily.washington.edu/2008/2/7/derby-girls-dont-cry-aggressive-face-women-skate-t/

Derby Hangover, why I play this sport...

Until this past weekend, I can honestly say I've never experience a "derby hangover" - which means that you got knocked around so much and so hard that you felt like you got "hit by a Mac truck." It has nothing to do with alcohol (I've had plenty of those in relation to derby too.) I have had a headache about every 6 hours since Saturday. Saturday, Feb 2nd, was the "Rust Riot" - an invitational from Rat City to 7 surrounding leagues to come play in an expo tournament to show everyone who the North West is in the world of roller derby. We were slated to play Olympia weeks ago - a perfectly uneven match up if there ever was one - but we put our hearts into it - with some key players out with injuries and I kid you not - a few playing with the flu (the bio-hazard red puke bucket was in the middle of the floor for a reason). And we lost - as we expected - but not because we didn't play hard and fair (and you can read into this statement we're not a bunch of cheatin', sore sports). Someone had to be thrown to the lions and our team drew the short straw. Honestly, in the end, I was very proud of our team and proud to be part of such a fantastic league. But my clock got cleaned and now I'm paying for it... with three Advil every few hours.

I crawled out of bed early the next morning to assist with the reason I loved this sport - scrimmages with other teams. Skaters signed up from all across the North West with Arson Annie who arranged us into fun scrimmaging groups such as: diapers (under 30) v. depends (over thirty - yes we spanked them); veggies v. carnivores, smokers v. non, moms v. non-moms, etc. It was a great and super fun opportunity to play with skaters you don't ever get to play WITH but usually AGAINST. In the Diapers v. Depends match-up I got to skate with a lot of my pals from PFM days - Mo YaDown, Sassy Chassis, Sara Problem? and Maude Elletee. Libby Raider (RCRG) and I worked together great both as blockers and her assisting me as jammer. Rhea (Rose City – Portland OR) and Roxie Hardknox (Terminal City-Vancouver BC), Petty Rage (Lava City -Bend OR) and I all had blast playing together - assisting and blocking for skaters you just met 10 minutes ago. I got to skate again some of my own teammates - which was funny - because you know them so well. I helped out by "checking in" specific teams and making sure the groups each had enough players. I played in two scrimmages (Diapers v. Depends, and Jammers v. Blockers) and the end-of-the-day pickup game - which was full of crazy diehards - just enough to make up two teams.

And this is why I play this sport. I play it not only for my team and my league but also for the opportunity to play with amazing and dynamic women from other teams, everywhere.

Some photos from the weekend:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smaira/sets/72157603843196161/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8505592@N05/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/type2b/sets/72157603849837381/

Just perfectly weird....

This afternoon, my friend Weedy and I were walking back to our respective jobs from having sandwiches at the Honey Hole today when we passed by Le Frock - a vintage clothing store on Pine. I stopped dead in my tracks - dressed on the mannequin in the window was the perfect outfit for a cabaret performance my team is doing later this month. She was wearing a red corset, a long vintage, multi-colored striped skirt (very carnival like but with much taste) and a purple tulle skirt peaking out from beneath. It was perfect! Absolutely perfect!

I grabbed Weedy and went into the store and trying to contain my excitement "I love the outfit on the mannequin! It's perfect! I would really like to try it on please. Do you know the sizes of what she's wearing?" The sales clerk, paused, a medium skirt and a 34 corset. Perfect! Just the right sizes! "Could I try them on?" She looked at the owner who looked back at me. When do you need them by? "February 10th." We're not taking them off the mannequin until March. "Excuse me?" Weedy and I both looked completely perplexed. We're not taking them off. We have other corsets in that size. "What about the skirts?" No. We don't have another one of those (it is a vintage store after all.) If you want to stop by later, I'll try and find something else for you. "But it's perfect for what I need." I couldn't believe it. Not that I felt outraged as a consumer, but why in God's name would you dress up a mannequin in a fantastic outfit if you had NO INTENTION of selling it?

We left. I swung by after work, thinking she would change her mind (plus I said I would). "Hi! I'm the lady to whom you won't sell the outfit on your mannequin... your sales clerk said she would find something else for me." And she did. But it wasn't even close and the whole thing was just hugely disappointing.

And weird.