Recap,,,of a lot of stuff

OK. So I mentioned in my last post that I was thisclose to my 25/5. I haven't gotten a chance to skate it again, but I'm pretty confident that I can do it. We were scheduled to practice Wed. night as usual, but we had several people who were out of town or off skates and decided that we could take a night off. So instead a group of us hit the local mall in our derby gear (practice was canceled late) and shopped for tights/fishnets, etc. It was an awesome bonding experience for the group of us and I really enjoyed it because I seldom get to do that with my league.

Last night we had our first open house/recruiting event and while we didn't have the turnout that facebook suggested we would have (not surprising) we did have a decent amount of people show up. We should get at least a couple girls on skates out of the deal, might have an NSO turned skater after her baby is born, and if we were going to try and start up a junior league we would have our very first derby brats! And they were too cute! Although I'm not sure the 13 year old would appreciate me saying that about her...she was a sweet kid though. All in all, the event seemed to go pretty well. And I got mad props off the coach during a pushes and pulls drill that we did during the practice portion that we did to let potential fresh meat get their feet wet. I was a speed demon around that track. Love to see myself improving and love it more when people notice!

This morning there was an off-skates practice with Tuesday Hula from QCRG that I was slated to be at, but my phone rang at 3AM with news that my in-laws house had burnt down. So I woke my husband (Yankee von Doom since he is actually from NY and I grew up in the south..hence my name) and we drove out because while there wasn't much we could besides be there for his parents there was no way were doing anything else. They were camping with some friends and their dogs so no one was hurt but the house and everything in it are total losses. It's a shame to lose the heirlooms, firearms, household goods, and whatnot, but I'm more grateful that no one was hurt. I will miss my big bad ass shotgun, but in the grand scheme of things that's not what really matters. At any rate, I texted my league and told them I would be there this AM because I wasn't sure what might need done. It turned out that I could have probably gone, but after sleeping for roughly three hours, getting woken up about the fire, and handling that boatload of information and adrenaline I got home about 6 or 630 and did some cleaning, puttered around a bit and was passing out on the couch while Yankee crawled back in bed. At 9 AM I woke him as per his request and then passed back out under a blanket with a raging headache for an hour. He feels very lost and in a way so do I...being here is more important than derby right now. I'm just waiting for things to be normal again for now...

Dixie

Pre-vacation practice

This is a note from last week's practice that didn't make it up before I left for Canada on vacation. We had a good night with most of the girls on wheels (people are recovering from a summer slump as it cools off I think). Couple of minor knee issues that should be fine with some RICE and TLC and since I am a total klutz I decided to take a massive spill. Somehow during a Wall Breaker drill as I attempted to juke through a wall I fell and managed to take a skate to the ovaries...between that and the fall I was curled up on the ground in a fetal position gasping for air and crying because in addition to that pain I thought I might've broken my thumb. Here I am, gasping for air, spitting my mouth guard on the track and trying to get my gear off which consists of me swearing, still gasping, and trying to remove my helmet and wrist guards while telling my derby wife (Aeon Fox) to "get it off. Pull it off!" She started at my helmet and then when I kinda waved the wrist in her face she got it...or maybe I said wrist guard..IDK...lol Suffice to say that it hurt like a bitch when she pulled the glove over my hand, but that my thumb was not broken in the long run, my ovaries did not have a skate shaped bruise, and I was back on the track within probably ten minutes. After laughing my head off after what our bench manager said was the hardest fall he'd ever seen...

To end the night we did a 25/5 time trial skating derby direction, non-derby direction, and I think backwards. Skaters who had not done 25/5 or just wanted to do it again could do it and then do other variations from there if we chose. Since I have been stuck at 21/5 for AGES I figured another crack at getting to 25 was in order. Also, my coach just basically asked me/told me i was going to do it...lol
So I did it. And my time for 25 laps...was 5 minutes, 4 seconds...and as usual I freaked out afterward. Not because of my time as I was pretty happy to have finally gotten 25 laps, but just because I'm a freakin' spazz. So I have to shave four seconds off my time. After doing a lot of up and down hill walking on vacation I think it might help me with getting my time...LOL Here goes...DERBY!

Dixie

Ugh, practices are becoming my own personal hell. Not because derby has ceased to be fun, but because I am, once again, sleeping horribly, which means that practice is beyond difficult for me as I do not function well when not sleeping well. Also, my boots are working their way to being shot and I can't afford new ones. I will be looking into things such as doubling up my socks and whatnot to keep my feet happy until I can save up the cash for new boots.

Otherwise derby is derby as usual. We are working on a roster for our September bout, but we seem to have lost several people and have no idea when they will be back, which puts us short. Hopefully we can borrow some skaters from another nearby league without too much difficulty, otherwise it's going to be a very rough bout. After having my lovely derby wife Aeon Fox show me how to properly complete a front to back transition on my skates I almost succeeded in completing one last night after just a few minutes of practice. Yay. And that, is derby news...

Dixie

Marketing/Ranting/Rambling/IDK

So it just randomly occurred to me that I need to learn how to become a blog marketing guru overnight so that I can convince people that I am an awesome enough skater that they should sponsor me or just donate money cause they love me so I can get new skates. Yes, I realize that this sounds very conceited of me. I am also an only child and had entirely too many people in my life tell me that I am awesome and amazing at everything. LOL

In all actuality, I just need to learn to write about things other than practice and whatnot on a derby themed blog so that I can generate more hits and followers. Maybe when I'm not working a job that forces me to ask off months in advance for every event I want to attend and penalizes me for asking for time off by cutting my hours I will have more to share. In the meantime, please stay tuned for more of my stupid/goofy/silly/angsty rants that may not be derby related and my weekly(ish) updates on derby in my life.

Love,
Dixie von D.

eating pizza and blogging

Practice last night was HUMID and the floor started to squeak...omg...I was dehydrated and dizzy real quick. The I sucked it up, got over it, and skated til I was ready to puke. We are gearing up for an open house/recruitment event at the end of this month along with bouts in September, October, and possibly December against the Albany All-Stars B team.

And then we will be on to next season. I am starting to try to get things ironed out, but I need venue info and our events planner handles a lot of that so I've dashed off a note to her and will keep working on what I can do for now.

Also, I tried something last night at practice that seemed totally impossible for me to have done when I started skating. We will set up an obstacle course with cones to weave and dodge, things to jump and whatnot and up until now I have always just jumped and avoided the obstacle because I never thought I was going to clear more than the basic jumping requirement. Our obstacle is a cheap wooden hockey stick that is balanced on two cones that stand no more than a foot high...if that. For me, I was convinced there was no way I was ever gonna clear it. Last night Coach Pistol Whip finally goaded me into trying it. First try I cleared it (mostly I think) but had a crazy bad landing. Was informed that it was "badass". My second try I actually jumped too late and barked my shins on the hockey stick. And then the drill was wrapping up so I have shelved that trick for another time, but I will clear that stick and stick my landing damn it!

Dixie