I Can Lose Six More Pounds

So I've been off the cardiovascular health thing for over a week now, and I feel really badly for not updating yet. I hit the goal for the program (186 lbs), but my mentor and I talked about how far I really wanted to go. Of course, I really don't care as long as my clothes fit, but I'm pretty sure I can get rid of six more after rodeo is over. Let me somehow just maintain for the next six weeks. Yes, rodeo is a lot of walking, but I always drink enough to counteract that.

I'm actually more curious to see if I've made an impact on my cholesterol. That will also have to wait for rodeo. I know I feel better overall, although that could be because I'm not hanging out with 60 sick women who keep passing their germs around over and over and over again. Blegh. I feel sorry for the friends I still have in there, even though I'm also tsking on the inside.

Anyway...six pounds before summer? Who wants to join me?

Is This Year Over Yet?

It feels like 2008 lasted FOREVER, and I still have a few more hours of work and a couple of days to get through. In 2008, I sent The Kitten to Kindergarten, started a dream job, laid on my deathbed twice, broke my toes three times, derbied across the country until I had to give up for good, and made an effort to eat better so I will never weigh more than 200 pounds (again).

I'm ignoring whatever weight I gained after spending a weekend in the "country"...you remember the country? I had to drink a couple of six packs of Bacardi Mojitos to survive. Nothing my 4:45-in-the-morning, every-other-day-because-it's-so-damn-intense, 30-minute-calisthenic-workout-from-hell can't fix.

I normally don't make resolutions, but one of my friends is so gung-ho about it, she really gets me in the mood. In 2009, I'm going to enjoy the last full year of my thirties by just relaxing because I spent most of the past decade chasing dreams and The Kitten. I'm going to need the rest for my forties if the way I'm only getting better with age is any indication. Also, I think I've worked up the nerve to stop ignoring Twitter. I can look at it one of two ways...either I'm already breaking the relaxing resolution, or I'm going to have plenty of time to play now that I'm relaxing.

I Make Myself Sick

When I think of all the sacrifices I have made for derby in the past three years, my stomach tends to trouble me. Currently, I'm making myself sick by conducting the league's third annual Fan Favorites survey. This year's survey is churning up the bile because I am paying for it out of my own pocket, I am seeing the responses on a daily basis, and I am fielding random complaints. I did all the same things last year, without the major derby burnout I am experiencing this year. I had no idea this silly little popularity contest would have the potential to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. To circumvent, allow me to vent...

To the people who showed up at Verizon at 7:00 pm on Sunday and were not let in: You should thank Verizon that they didn't let you catch the anticlimactic end of a bout you are going to see again in September and you already saw last year (who would have thought that hitting the same girls over and over again would cause burnout?). May I suggest next time (September 14, 2008..hint, hint), you buy a ticket online through the Thursday before the bout?

To the person who dislikes obscene gestures: I did not enjoy the gesturing on Sunday either, although for an entirely different reason. Sometimes sports bring out the best in us; sometimes sports bring out the worst in us; sometimes a lot of things go on behind the scenes that affect us either way. I hope our fans (and our league) can focus on the good things. I'll try to do the same (see, I'm already feeling better from venting).

To the survey takers who have cookies deactivated or deleted: You should make sure your first answers are the ones you truly want, because I delete any responses from duplicate IP addresses. If you are a derby girl, you should be ashamed of voting for yourself or your team as a favorite more than once.

I have so much more I could say, but for now, I've done my derby duty and advertised the survey as well as our next bout. I don't know how much the venting helped, but it might tide me over enough to get through a HaRD Knocks workout in the morning without screaming or crying.

Happy Posts?

At the end of the highly controversial Brawlers vs. Betties bout last night, Elle McFierce exclaimed over how I would write a happy post today. That was right before I fell over from exhaustion.

It's not like I did anything to become exhausted. Except for one grand slam, an almost inefficient backwards whip given to Audiomind, and a fun little blocker takeout while jamming on Becky Booty, my performance was pretty much dismal. I wasn't expecting it to be much more than that after a couple of weeks of forced inactivity.

I also wasn't expecting the Brawlers to win, but we did. I really shouldn't admit that I don't have a lot of faith in my home team, but we all remember the tough year the Brawlers went through in 2007. 2008 was starting to look almost identical, but now we've won a game somewhat early in the season. I'm positive we can take another one if we all get and stay healthy. I still heart my Brawlers, even though the rest of my body is consumed with HaRD Knocks.

So I'm feeling alright today, even though I could barely walk last night. Then I get the bad news that I won't get a job interview I was pretty sure I would nail. That just boggles my mind, because I look great on paper, and I'm even better in person when I really, really want the job (and who wouldn't really, really want a job at a prestigious private school?). Damn. So I keep reminding myself it's probably better that I don't take a new job while my personal life is so stressful, even though I do have an interview with a major player in the oil & gas industry in a couple of weeks. Sweet.

Yeah, Elle, this post was a little bit happy, but a little bit bummed, too. I seriously need to get out of this funk before the summer gets outrageously busy with bouts, bouts, and more bouts on top of my obsession with finding the perfect job as well as getting a big girl ready for kindergarten. Oh, happy posts!

A Good Week Gone Bad

I was having a really good week last week. The library received a ton of donated design books, and I was just having the best time cataloging, processing, and getting them on the shelf. I got to sit down with a couple of fellow derby martyrs and churn out lineups for four games in two days, utilizing all twenty skaters on our roster for the Roll for a Cure tournament in Orange County, California. Most people complain about tasks like cataloging or manipulating lineups, but I love that sort of detail-oriented, mind-numbing work. Then, the shivering started.

Thursday morning, I took some Motrin for the aches and pains I usually have the day after derby practice. Thursday afternoon, I took some more for a slight fever. Early Friday morning, I woke up with a fever of 102. More Motrin, and wow, that stuff works on fever, but what about my legs that won't work right and my brain that feels like it's trying to get loose? The doc sees nothing causing the fever, but take these antibiotics anyway just in case. So the fever is under control, but good Lord, my head! I didn't sleep more than thirty minutes at a time Friday and Saturday night. So Sunday morning, 5am, I can't take it anymore. Time to go to the hospital. I practically have to be carried to keep from passing out, I feel like I'm freezing to death, I have to stop to dry heave, and my head throbs with the sound of a pin that fell next door. Been out of the country? No. Burning when you pee? No. Congestion? None that would cause this! Well, then let's butcher your arm for blood and then pump some morphine and fluids in there. Next we're going to take chest x-rays, a cat scan, and if nothing comes back from those, get ready for that SPINAL TAP! Whee!

After all that, nothing. Nothing! Everything is clear. I still have a headache, although it's not as bad as Sunday morning. I can look back and laugh at the fact that I dry heaved all over the hospital, but the minute I walked out the doors, I puked water all over the bench waiting for my husband to bring the truck around. Nice. I cannot laugh about the fact that every time I am prepared to kick ass across the country as a member of HaRD Knocks, something happens to either prevent me from doing it or seriously hamper me in some way. So maybe I can't skate, but I can be the leader I was chosen to be, and I'm not going to break my promise to take The Kitten to Disneyland. This one will be the bad week gone good.

March Masquerade

Another Houston Roller Derby season, another year full of bout posters...



Our opening bout this year should be interesting. I'm waiting to see if my hearing will be restored by then, even though the doctors don't know why I have significant hearing loss. Seems like the infections that were so obvious a couple of weeks ago have now subsided and left this nagging pressure behind. It's really there, people! I'm not making this up. Believe me, I'm not enjoying meeting my $400 insurance deductible in one month. Also, it's hard to skate in a pack when you can't hear properly. Now I realize those eyes in the back of my head were actually my ears. It should be fairly easy to take me out if I can't hear you coming, and I've been confirming that in the last couple of practices. Ouch.

Another interesting side note to this bout is Hannah Montana's performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on the same day. I think the similarities in both our audiences might surprise some people. In other words, her sold out show should affect our attendance. Prove me wrong, and buy a ticket to March Masquerade online!

Rocky Mountain High (and Low)

I skated in my very first away bout this Saturday and also dealt with the added pressure of captaining a team of all-stars. Not to mention the pressure in my ears from a lingering infection mixed with the altitude. Sound like a fun-filled weekend?
Pffft.

Our expectations were high coming into it. HaRD Knocks is an extremely talented team filled with the leading blockers and scorers from HRD. In the WFTDA-sanctioned bout against the Pikes Peak Derby Dames, we were up against a team with no previous interleague wins. HaRD Knocks has a few under our belt, so we felt strong. We believed we were more evenly matched with the team we scrimmaged against on Sunday, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. Boy, were we wrong.

I haven't felt very secure in my beliefs or my skills since halftime of the Pikes Peak bout. We were up by 20 and thought we were overcoming the difficulties of an old, slick skating surface, a crowd cheering like crazy for their home team, and a mostly inexperienced group of referees. Then we managed to score in only 5 out of 17 jams in the second half and ended up losing by 20. It actually should have been a closer gap, but the celebration had already started when we were scoring some points on the final jam. Please pardon my pettiness.

Sunday was even worse, performance-wise. We didn't wake up until the second half, and by then, the damage was done. Once we realized that it would be almost impossible to make up the deficit, it seemed like the pressure was off and we skated like I knew we could. Even though we lost by almost 40 points, it felt much closer and friendlier.

HaRD Knocks is still looking forward to a great season. We have a tough practice schedule before our next bout(s) in May. Even people we don't know think we have a chance.

Bad Omen for Traveling

I haven't been very nervous about traveling to Colorado for bouts on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon...

Until I woke up this morning underwater. Antibiotics start working in two days, right? Because I think my eardrums might shatter if I have to get on a plane with them feeling like they do right now.

Cancer is about to get SMACKed!

I just found out that one of my wonderful derby sisters has cancer. I met Smack Bauer when I attended the Nacogdoches Rollergirls first bout in February. She was HOT...awesome jammer, lots of attitude! Kinda reminds me of someone I know...but I digress.

I'm going to be reading about how she beats this and try to send healing vibes her way. I've got plenty of those to go around now.

I Hate Laying in Bed and Doing Nothing!

Just when I was starting to get used to carrying around a little extra weight on one of my legs and going more places, I came down with some sort of yucky stomach thing. For the past three days, the toilet and the bed have been monopolizing my time. Blegh! Thank God it was this weekend, when I didn't have plans for something like, hmmmm, watching my derby sisters play an interleague bout at the Verizon Wireless Theatre.