Wash your hands...

I visited my derby wife and good friend Louise in Boston two weeks ago. She was working, in one of her classes, with a world famous surgeon, not because he was so skilled but because he had a mandate of 8 operational procedures that you, as a hospital, could do to increase the success of every single surgery. Not based on skill. Can you guess the first thing? You can. Because you all have:

1. Wash your hands.

Who knows what the other 2-8 where because we get so obsessed with "wash you hands - WHAT - IS THAT TRUE? Is it true that surgeons forget to wash their hands? How is it that medical institutions ignore these rules!

Wash your hands. For 20 seconds.

That is the only aspect of the whole H1N1 thing that I'm thrilled about - all the public service announcements:

Wash your hands.

Cover your mouth.

Stay home if you are sick.

Domestic Goddess Diva - day two - I worked on an apron that I had started in March. I watched a "Haunting" episode (or 2) about Ballard (WHAT there are ghosts in Seattle - in Ballard - my neighborhood?!?!?). I went shopping for spices. I met some girlfriends out for a beverage. We laughed, we chatted about derby, we chatted about the Mutter Museum, our Thanksgivings... I started the evening with "My friend Louise, works with a professor - a surgeon..."

I washed my hands.

For 20 seconds.

When Do Herbs & Spices Give Up the Ghost?

I felt like such a domestic goddess today as I thumbed through the spice box to see just how old they were and why they were all dated 2008... Didn't I cook a turkey last year? (Turns out that I didn't.) What happened to 2009 spices? How old was this chili? And this oregano?

The whole day I was a domestic goddess as I stayed home for yet another day of furlough. We are taking two weeks this year and I am taking them both in November (which means I'll be broke in December.) Today I got up, dropped Lara off at the bus stop and went to the store to get some breakfast treats for a friend who was coming over at 9:30. Indy and I worked on derby stuff (while eating coffee cake and drinking coffee) before she headed out to pick up her daughter at noon. I had a peanut butter sandwich (with honey) for lunch. I always forget to each lunch on my days off and end up starving which means I can't eat my tasty salad. Made some calls about an HIV presentation I'm going to give on Monday.

I changed in to sweats and dropped off some stuff at the dry cleaners, walked around Greenlake (3 miles) and came home to answer more emails and start dinner. Whole foods. Slow foods. Homemade food. Beans and rice. Plain and simple and delicious.

After dinner, I decided that I needed a nap. Even as I rocked as the "domestic goddess" DIVA, I was still tired. I did a lot of derby work and some things for the CAB. I worry though, that if I was honestly a domestic goddess diva - for real and not just for a few days a year - that I could end up an alcoholic. I mean because I was thinking, around 3 p.m., that it would be great to have a glass of wine while I started dinner... and one would have been fine. But once you open the bottle... and it's only 3 p.m.... that can be a slippery slope.

Luckily I'm only pretending.

A real thunderstorm...

I was driving home from practice tonight in my least favorite Seattle weather - sheets of rain blowing sideways. I had the wipers on fast and was pulling off the freeway, heading home when I decided to call my office to remind me to do about a gazillion things before I left for vacation (with an ear bud - safety.) A huge blue light lit up the sky and I was at a loss of what to say. It's been so long since I've seen a thunderstorm - a "real" one that stops my in my breath and humbles me. One giant blue flash that lit up the entire sky.

There is usually a flash - one - with a one rumble that ends up on the news the next day. The giant blue flash. The rumble. This time it was followed by more flashes and zigzags of lighting shooting across the sky. The sheets of rain came down harder and more rumbles. I was secretly thrilled. I loved it. It was a great - the intensely brief thunderstorm that caused me to slow down driving home - shoot the apartment - scared the kitty friends.

Inspired...

Tonight I went and saw Regina Spektor (an anti-folk singer song writer, born in Russian, emigrated to the US at 9 years old) with Lara at the Paramount tonight. We had combined funds to purchase the VIP tickets from the Legal Voice Auction. I hadn't been to a concert in ages. I was excited - exhausted and couldn't way to just go out and hear a great show.

I stayed late at work and headed down to the show. The "Paramount Club" which is what the VIP ticket bought you wasn't much more than a private bar with cheese, salami and crackers (I kid you not.) But the bar line wasn't crowded, the drinks were resonably priced (I haven't had a White Russian - which I chose in honor of Regina Spektor - in years.) It was kind of funny because some of the patrons, you could tell, went there all of time time. Some patrons were new - and were asking things like "how do you do this? I mean how do you cut these cheeses with there little knives." Hmmm. It was fun to be "exclusive" but not really - that exclusive.

The show itself was FANTASTIC! I was introduced to Regina Spektor by my friend Brandi who had bought her CD from CD Baby (which essentially gave you two for the price of one. One you kept - one you shared.) I had become a huge fan. But then MyPod (my Ipod) played her constantly (as it does with the Gorillas) and I had to take her off for a while. What a great show! Her vocal range is amazing. She's a super talented pianist and her lyrics, much like Andrew Bird's, make you listen, laugh and feel totally engrossed in the story she's telling you. It was such a great show and honestly, the whole time I was inspired and kept thinking... why aren't I the filmmaker I thought I would be?

Hmmm.

Inspired.



My two favorite songs from tonight: Machine and Folding Chair.

My favorite song - On the Radio - from her previous work.

Ending the season...

This weekend was the Bombers last bout of the 2010 season. The bout was a total nail biter as we anticipated it would be. We ended up winning and it was a great way to end the season. It was also a much better team than last year's team. We solved some big problems and built a lot of trust (which is key) throughout the season. I'm confident that we can get to Regionals next year! Stay tuned...

This time last year...


I go off the phone with my friend Arson and we were chatting about this and that and she said something about "this time last year." We both paused and thought about it. This time last year the economy was sinking. WaMu (a Washington favorite) was tanking. Expedia, Microsoft and others were laying people off. And consequently other businesses were closing. The news on Wall Street was horrible. Main Street was nervous. My work's auction wasn't going to succeed. And people started saying "this time was different. It's different the the Dot Bomb. It's different than 86." Our lame president decided to do something - too little too late. Looking back on my blog then, I was plenty stressed out but I was also working on the Obama campaign; running around like crazy, putting a ton of time and energy into just about everything.

However, October last year was just the beginning of dread - of budget cuts - of failed programs, of seriously tough times. (In the last year I've had 15 friends lose their jobs - and luckily find new ones.) This time, now, this year, feels a little different. Things are looking up. We haven't bottomed out just yet (unemployment hasn't hit it's all time low), but there is still this optimism. (Americans are optimistic in general.) It's an interesting time. Are we going to learn from this? Are we going to change? Are we going to continue to save money and get rid of debt? I went to an investors presentation today and they're talking about changing the face of philanthropy - do they mean it? Will this be long term change?

What is October 2010 going to look like?

And that's question for my 500th blog posting.

Yeah!

Derby, ducks, adventures in the sun...

Snap shots of the weekend.

And the debates wears on....

This was posted on my favorite - www.nataliedee.com - site the other day. The name of the image is "if you can't pay a million dollars for healthcare you deserve to die anway."

Autumn descended with a boisterous vengeance...

This weekend was absolutely beautiful! I started Saturday with the AIDS Walk with the Community Advisory Board for the HIV/AIDS Trail Unit. We had pulled together a great team and I managed to raise $210 in about three hours on Facebook on Friday when I finally had a chance to register and get my crap together. I had a gazillion great conversations. I met another Michelle from Cleveland who also went to the University of Iowa (which was super fun!) After a post-walk snack, I picked up Lara and her friend Andrew who had been at the Smithsonian "Free Museum Day" and we all headed to lunch (Cedar's Lebanese) and then to the Henry Art Museum. That was rather disappointing and I am glad that it was free....

I thought of heading to open scrimmage at Rat City's new practice space but it was such a beautiful, sparkly, cool Saturday. We all went for a beer instead (or two) and I had a nice nap before heading off to a fundraising event. Sunday was filled with meetings and a quick little trip through the Ballard Farmer's Market (peppers are in!), followed by a visit to Ballard Sustainable Market (beer takes less water resources than coffee), other errands and a BBQ with my team. It was a great Sunday.

Monday was a blur from work to meeting to practice. However, in the time between going to my CAB meeting and have a cookie with Heidi at the Subway after the meeting, the temperature dropped 20 degrees has not made an honest attempt to creep up any higher. The dark ominous rain this afternoon sealed the deal and it's officially autumn. Dark. Cold. Seattle. Brrr.

Just goes to show you don't know...

This past weekend the Jet City Bombers when down to Centrailia's (exactly between Portland and the Washington capital of Olympia) Rainy City Rollergirls. Ms. Unshine and her husband (Ray of Unshine) picked me up and we headed to West Seattle where I turned in a picture to be framed and we enjoyed some delicious food from the Bakery Nouveau - which always has a line out the door (and for very good reasons!) We picked up Arson and somehow traffic was absent around Tacoma/Fort Lewis (which usually adds at least 45 minutes to your commute) and we ended up in Centrailia an hour earlier than we expected. And what a cute little sleep town it was. And sad. More than half of the storefronts were empty. There was a sense that you were in your aunt trunk in the attic. It was quaint and charming but musty and forgotten at the same time. We found a tchotchke shop that sold espresso (for $.50 a shot! So cheap! She forgot to charge for the cup and water!) We walked around. Had our coffee and headed to the bout.

It was a strange bout - nothing like we expected. I mean honestly I figured we would clobber them. Not that it wouldn't be a tough bout - I'm not that egotistic but I had no idea how badly they wanted it (though our coaches had an idea.) The bout was tough and intense but it was more frustrating and strange was the skaters were horrible sportswomen. They brought a lot of antagonism. They played dirty -like laying out our jammer after the 4th whistle blew (which ends play) or hitting people illegally. Their captain tried to start a fight with our captain on the sidelines (WHAT?!). This kind of play just got us amped up and we lowered our play to their level. We were angry. We were distracted. We didn't play our game.

Not that we didn't try to clean it up and gain control the game. And we started the second half in control. They also closed the point gap and started to distract us again. It was just so antagonistic. I was glad the game was over (thought I played a great game). I was glad we won and it was done. We all went out as a team for burgers and beers and most of us went home not wanting to go to their after party. But one skater - Precious & Metal - did go to the after party (after dinner) and of course was the good ambassador that you're suppose to be in derby. And she learned a lot. She learned that this team played like this to make it interesting for their fans. They knew we were going to clobber them so they put out all they could. We both had the same discussions at halftime. We both wanted to play a cleaner game. They wanted to be respected. They wanted to be friends as the end of the day. And truly, it was a couple of rotten apples who ruined it for most of us. But they expected us to be at the after party - and leave it out on the track.

And we should have. Because that's what derby is all about... playing hard. Leaving it on the track. Having beers afterwards.

The sisterhood.

You shouldn't forget that.

A write up about the bout:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=468253274&blogId=511450596

Your eyes are big, your tail is puffy and I don't trust you.

Fezzy, my pink tabby, was sitting on the futon looking at me with big eyes, so super cute but his tail was twitching like he was up to no good. And you really shouldn't trust a cat with a twitchy tail. Some people say you shouldn't trust a cat at all. I am not one of those people. But when their tail is twitching... be cautious of claws.

Kitty friends. Somehow the kitty friends have fleas. Fezzy and Monkey originally got them from Friday who had become an indoor/outdoor cat. Then we treated them; cleaned them up. Got rid of the fleas. Friday unfortunately disappeared. Fezzy and Monkey both got out once on their own. But months and months without fleas. Somehow they have fleas again.

I know as seasons change fleas shore up their winter homes in their favorite furry animals. But kitty friends don't go out. We live on the 3rd floor of an apartment. Damn it fleas. You are so not welcomed here.

And you're making the cats crazy. But there are a lot of haikus written about you.

Making friends on the bus...

This morning I ran out the door - hair in two little "bun balls" behind my ears, no lipstick, awake - but just barely, no lipstick (did I say no lipstick), looking a little crazed - and made it to my stop with a salad for lunch, banana, peach and the daily paper and a random paper or two. At the stop, a friend tapped me on the shoulder. "Hello!" It was my friend, introduced to me by someone who worked in my building. He worked at one of the few INDOOR National Parks in the country. We chatted a bit about how our mutual friend moved to Minneapolis. We got on the bus and then another friend he had made on the bus, moved closer to us. He asked about her sister who was at Baylor college and how her roommates were having an intervention because her sister NEVER showered. It was hilarious. It was a ridiculous conversation dogged between passengers. It was a nice conversation. He is definitely a connector. I didn't get to read my paper. I didn't get to zone out. But I hung out with Colm and Rinetta (who LOVES Slaughter House 5 and whose sister hates to shower) and converse in between passengers.

I love riding the bus. I love making friends on the bus. I love meeting new people.

Laborless weekend!

This weekend was a perfectly relaxed weekend! I couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off the fall. I had some friends come up from Portland on Friday. I had met these gals when a few skaters from my league went down to play Portland's Guns and Rollers in a Friday night fundraiser (which Shannon from Cleveland go to see.) Kathryn and Cher were great hosts and we were delighted to host them. Mona, Arson, Indy, Maudy, Shovey and I all met them out for drinks from the Chapel. We then headed to Hales Brewery in Ballard for more tasty beverages and dinner then back to my place for more drinks. It was fun to be making new friends. The new morning we all went out for brunch and Bloody Mary's (not myself, do not like tomato juice.) They then headed off to Vancouver for the rest of the weekend and I went home to nurse a hangover headache. The rest of the day was spent running errands, watching tennis and enjoying a very lazy Saturday.

Sunday's rain was discouraging but not completely. Lara and I grabbed umbrellas, jumped in the car and headed to the Farmer's Market. Grabbing coffee at Nervous Nellie's proved to be fruitful for during that time the sun broke thru and the rain ceased long enough to run our and grab some fresh fruits and veggies at the market. We ran into Comet and her sister and Pygmy. Pygmy was on her way to the gym and we made plans to have dinner at a new French restaurant in Ballard. Fast forward through hydrofit and a nap, Pygmy and I headed out, like 1,000 other people, to grab dinner in Ballard. Everywhere was packed (the rain keeping people from camping, the economy keeping people from going far.) We ended up at Hatties Hat, an old haunt, a local restaurant and a place that Pygmy and I had spent plenty of time. There was hardly anyone there but by the time we left the place was packed (including 15 Rat City Rollergirls whose new practice space is literally just behind Hatties.) We grabbed Lara and headed over to see District 9 - which turned out to be a pretty damn good film.

Today was breakfast with Megan and some others to talk about a joint fundraiser (between CarnEvil and Grave Danger) and talk about our plans to go to France next year for Megan's 40th birthday. Arson and I went on a hike through Discovery Park that was now opened because they had caught the cougar that had been spotted in the neighborhood (they freed him in the mountains late yesterday). Another nap, another movie (Finding Nemo) and I'm ready to call it a "Great Weekend" and turn in for the night. However, I have practice - so I guess I can't call it completely laborless...

*potatoes from the Ballard Farmer's Market...

Curiosity almost got the cat killed...

I was exhausted today. Not because I had been at work until 8 p.m. or later all three nights of this week so far - that is exhausting but it's not what did me in. I brought home some left over stuff from a donor party and left it in a box in the hall way. At about 3 a.m. Fezzy decided that of course, because it was a box, was definitely worth exploring. I let the noise go for a little bit but then I heard the crinkle of a potato chip bag. I went into the hallway and Fezzy was about to continue the BBQ. I put everything on the counter in the kitchen, out of his reach. But he was like, HI! You're up! Let's play. And I couldn't turn my mind off. I started thinking about work, about derby, travels in the fall, how I was going to fit it all end and Fezzy was mushing my feet, walking on my head. When that didn't get the response he wanted, he started other adventures. And Monkey joined in the adventures. I gave up. Played with the kitties. I eventually curled up on the futon at 6 a.m. and fell asleep.

Kitties. Seriously.

Just cause you're following a well made trail, don't mean whoever made it knew where they were headed...



I read that quote on a Deschutes Bewery newsletter on the table at the Pub. I had a great mini-vacation two weeks ago. JCRG's travel team went to Bend, Oregon to play a "sanctioned" bout. Maudy and I arrived on Friday night after sitting in ridiculous traffic and spending a couple hours winding around Mt. Hood. Saturday the team "floated down the river" - which was really just what we needed. I can't say I've intentionally 'floated a river' in forever. It was great. We made derby jokes and my arms froze off as I tried to paddle at catch up with the rest of the group - the river is fed by moutain water. We kicked serious butt in a derby bout and then I spent the rest of my vacation there drinking beer at Deschutes Brewery, hiking, going to McMinimims Brewery, hiking, then to Three Creeks Brewery. It was an absolutely delicious way to spend a few days.

Bend and the Sisters (mountains) reminded me of "where I spent my summers" in the foothills of the Rockies where my grandparents had a house. Or up at my (great) Aunt Jane's cabins. The air is more crisp in the Rockies but the vibe was very similar - relaxed - western - tumble weeds, horses, mountains and sunshine. I kept thinking I would love ot buy a little house out here - and be a cowgirl in Bend. Of course that would last for like 15 minutes and then I would get bored and want to be back in the city. (Maybe.)

The vacation was just what I needed before I came back to work yesterday after being off a week. I have a gazillion things to do but with a very clean apartment and mostly well rested I feel pretty sure I can tackle the weeks a head... fall fundraising campaign, an event for work, and getting derby going again.

*sigh*


I was in the Seattle Magazine article that came out today... click here.

Too much noise...

This morning, at work, I refused to get online. I quietly working on the fall campaign letters and would only log on after two hours of working - even my work email was turned off. I needed to find a way to get through the noise of so much "Internet". My Facebook, MySpace, Blog, email, email, email, email. It's a lot like eating too much sugar. The next thing you know you want a cookie after lunch, you want a glass of wine after dinner. You're never quite satisfied and just want a little more. And though I usually can manage the mania of email, sometimes you cannot. You check your stuff 13 times a day thinking it might, will be different. And it's not. And you just need a break. You need to shut it off. You need to dim the lights. Turn off the noise.

And we're on a roll...

This weekend my "home" team CarnEvil, who managed to secure last place in the league again this season, went to Sacramento to play Sacred City Roller Girls. I'll be the first to admit I was concerned about this bout. I hadn't seen Sacred play in more than a year but they were a league to be reckoned with and I have to admit I thought we had a killer of bout on our hands. We got there early enough to sign paper work, buy a t-shirt, finds some good seating on the floor and watch some good derby before we played. We watched their "A" team play a WFTDA sanctioned bout against Dallas and Dallas took them apart and beat them by 70 points. At that point I became rather confident that could be our second win this year... And we did win by 50 points.

We started off strong and managed to stay together and play together as a team. There was no one who wasn't doing their job or having an "off night". We managed to stay calm, collected and together. It was rather fantastic, I have to admit - to win. I jammed a lot (as we were short a jammer in our group) and wracked up a bunch of points. But the team wasn't dependent on just one or two jammers - we are finally at a point where we have enough and are truly stronger as a team.

The whole weekend was a great time. We got in late on Friday. Saturday we had breakfast, coffee and early conversation. Some people went to "Old Sacramento" and some of us swam around in th pool, doing cannonballs or sitting in the sun reading magazines. After the bout, we all hung out together at the after party - the Sacramento gals being the greatest of hosts. We scrimmaged on Sunday and drove back in the late afternoon to catch our flight back to Seattle.

Monday wasn't nearly as productive as I had hoped it would be - though after a weekend with very little sleep, what could you expect. Four of us went up to Bombers practice after work where we scrimmaged with Rat City. I wasn't sure I wanted to scrimmage - though it's one of my favorite things about derby - because I was still beat. But it turned out to be a GREAT time and we managed to hold our own for the most part - giving us the boost of confidence we need to go to Bend and take on Lava City Roller Girls.

I think we're on a roll...

Heading to California, looking forward to Bend, taking a break

I head to Sacramento with my team CarnEvil to play Sacred City's B Team. Our travel team played them (and got schooled - bad) and I've seen them play a couple of times. I'm really looking forward to this bout - its going to be fun. We're done with our season. We're going as a team and we're out to win - for us. Not for anyone else. Not for ranking. Not for the season. Just for us. It should be a great time.

Work has been incredibly stressful - for the usual 97 reasons. I have about 3 weeks of vacation to take before the end of the year. One unpaid and two paid - plus a couple of extra days here and there. I'm going to take a few days in Bend, Oregon (because I'm going to be there the following weekend to play another bout as a Bomber) and go to breweries and explore this little city in the middle of Oregon. I'm going to then take a few days at home. I'm going to sew an apron I cut months ago. I'm going to clean up the "office space" that needs about two hours of attention. I might take a crafty class. I'm going to visit my friend's new business and go out for a tasty beverage. I'm going to take stuff to the Good Will. I'm going to go skating in the morning and take cat naps with Fezzy in the afternoon. I'm going to read a book. I can't wait! I can't wait to stay home. For vacation.

Inspiring your dad...

I spent an hour trying to change the spark plugs in a drizzly, poorly lit parking lot behind my apartment. Of course, I should say it like it is - Lara did most of the work - I ran around getting tools, trying to loosen the spark plugs and calling my dad when we couldn't get a single one out. It was ridiculous! My father when over the "Lefty Loosey, Right Tighty" (duh) and then we chatted some more after we gave up. So with a pocket full of inspiration or more like, these things don't rust! It can't be rusted in! (The crunching sound we heard was not the bult pulling away from the rust, but the ceramic spark plug top breaking off. That's how tightly screwed in they were.) It's got to come out!

And eventually they did...though it took an hour. And with a bunch of additional calls to my father with other thoughts and advice (some asshole who changed them last tightened them too tight. There is no reason it should take two people to take out a spark plug. - dads words.) After two handed pulls (and we're talking roller girls here) the spark plugs eventually came loose and were changed. The horrible (rather violent) idling problem seemed to be solved. And my father, after all those calls after midnight, said he was proud of his daughter - because she was changing her own spark plugs. That made me laugh. I'm gald it didn't take too much.

Inspired...

I spent the weekend with a 1,000 roller girls in Las Vegas for the third August in a row. I wasn't really wanting to go when I bought my ticket - I was experiencing derby burn out. I was overwhelmed at my job and wasn't sure that spending 5 days with a bunch of roller girls in blazing hot Las Vegas was the remedy. Turns out it was just the thing.

I took some classes with skaters I've always admired from blockers like Anna Maul, Ginger Snap and Carmen Getsome to jammers who amaze me like Sadistic Sadie and Fortune. I skated with other rollergirls (and guys) in open scrimmages on a polished cement floor which was like "Bambi on ice" (remember in the film). Some people were upset about the floor (it truly was impossible to skate on) but it made me laugh and it was a great equalizer. We ALL sucked. We all struggled and it made most of us, dress in black or white shirts for scrimmaging, laugh - a lot. (It also gave an an excuse for just about anything we didn't do correctly - you just blame it on the floor.)

I saw a lot of the Freemont Street bouts which were outside and usually very fun themed - Star Trek v. Star Wars, Amazons (tall skaters) v. Shorties (obvious), Ref v. Skaters. They are held in Old Vegas which has it's own charm and is far away from the Disney-esk modern casino of the Las Vegas Strip. I managed to eat extremely well as there was a Whole Foods near the facility where most of the classes were held (we weren't outside in the parking garage). Even early morning plyos were indoors.

There was the usual "roller girls taking over the Imperial Palace Casino" at 3 a.m. Patrons would walk in and you could see their jaws drop at the spectacle. I learned from a bartender at the Margaritaville that the locals, who knew about it, LOVED it when the roller girls came to town. They knew how to party - they were generally very nice (a lot of us work in the service industry) and are very fun. I did spend Friday night out but I didn't roll in past 3 a.m. any time... and that was ok.

When Bess and I went to drop of the car rental, I thought of just taking off on Highway 15 and heading into the Spring Mountains surrounding the city or even heading east to Utah to go to Bryce Canyon. I was feeling inspired...

* even Vegas can be inspiring - they have a Farmers Market!