Judgement

Ok so really this post has nothing to do with Derby.

I've been mostly stuck at home with a broken leg for that past month, which makes me susceptible to tv I wouldn't normally watch. Today I got caught up in the Oprah show with country singer Chely Wright. Recently Ms. Wright made the admission that she is gay.

Listening to her ordeal made two words pop into my head instantly, judgement and respect.

Judgement-
To me judgement is not my job. Its not anyone's job on this earth. I could feel the pain in Ms. Wright eyes as she talked about children who are judged as damaged because they are gay.
Why? To what end? If we damage our future we damage ourselves.

Respect-
Jesus gave us an 11th commandment" Love your neighbor as you love yourself". No where in the bible are we given the right or even the task of judging others. No one has the right to hurt a child or an adult and decide who they are and if that is wrong.


I am Catholic, I am Christian and I love everyone. I don't care who you are or who you love. I love you!


I close this with a quote from Chely's father" Do not close the door but open a heart"

Injuries SUCK!

Ok so I had a pretty bad fall, I may have written about it in my last blog, and it forced me to go to the doctor. I go in thinking I have injured my knee and I walked out with a walking cast and a stress fractured fibula...insert groan here.....

Thats right folks 4 weeks on no skating, no activity, no nothing! But as anyone in derby can tell you this is a full contact sport and the potential for injury is very real.

I want to take this big ole sour lemon and make lemonade. I want to use this month to get my eating under control, to work on muscle I rarely work ( upper body, abs) and come back strong!

So why am I feeling so down in the dumps today?
I went to practice, helped with drills (sorta), went to a PR event. But I still feel pretty low. I gotta snap out of this or I'll be headed for a cupcake quicker than Asian Invasion can give me her sad face....if only I really could just find some broccoli to make love to.....

My Family

My Derby family never ceases to amaze me! Just when I think I am the worst skater, the girl that will never "belong" to the team they open my eyes. Time trials SUCK ok I have crappy stamina and a serious problem with believing in myself. But we do them usually every other week so I was preparing for them all day ( i.e making myself more nervous but the minute)! My lovely derby wife made sure I got to practice by trapping me in her car though I surely would have chickened had she not.

To ensure her place in best Derby Wife Ever history she paced me too, after doing her own trials, along with one of my other derby crushes!

We stand in our line and go in groups, and I do my damndest to cheer my teammates on! I love them all! Yet somehow when my turn was up I was honeslty suprised at them screaming...FOR ME!?!

Now I have NEVER been able to make my trials, I feel highly incompetent and slow as a snail in that situation. But I was able to add over a lap to my best time.

To me this was just another defeat but my family proved me wrong! As I rolled off the floor collapsing from exhaustion I found myself in tears, but before they could start to fall my family was surrounding me. Hugging me, slapping my helmet, kissing me (you KNOW who you are and I think we may be engaged now!) Saying things like "I am so proud of you", "You looked so great out there" and a million other supportive things!

Did I make it..NO but only on paper! Last night I "made" an even bigger discover, I have a family! A family of hard core ,kick ass sisters that will lift you up without a second thought! And I am more than proud to be one of those sisters and can only hope that one day I can be as supportive to a new sister as she starts this journey of self discovery and true woman-hood!

Derby's Concentric Circle

I don't know if its just DDG but there is definitely a Concentric Circle in our league! Just today I learned that one of my derby sisters is my boss's neighbor. I already skate with a friend I had lost contact with for awhile and a friend who brought me in.
There's no end to the friend of a friend, and just while sitting around at lunch last week three of us figured out our grandfathers worked together on the Moon Shot.
I have a theory that most lives run in a circle until you figure out where you are suppose to be in life. Derby is no exception.
Not only do we share a common bond with the sport we play but we almost all have a common bond OUTSIDE of derby! For example one of my other derby sisters reads the same obscure fantasy novel series.
It just never ends.
Bottom line...if you ever find yourself wondering if derby is for you, look to your concentric circles. If there they're you've got your answer. If they aren't look harder!

Life and Derby Collide

Ok so this week has been Crazy!!!! It's Holy Week at Church which has taken me away from Derby for two practices but it's ust has to be that way! In light of knowing I couldn't be there I got with my running coach and we started skating outside. This week I logged 18 miles outside on skates! I'm getting much faster and less afraid.

I am so involved in Derby and Church and Work and Home I was starting to feel overwhelmed but I've been able to sit back and just take a breath. I am only one kitty and I can only do what I can do.

Tonight I'm missing time trials which is my last stumbling block to scrimmagable...will I ever get there : ) Ehhhh when the time is right I will! Until them I just gotta keep livin' dead and rollin' hard!

HUGE Breakthrough

Ok so its like this...every once in awhile the Kitty has a breakdown. Not sure why, not even really sure what brings it on. But every once in while I get so frustrated during a pratice I literally feel like crying. It happened tonight.
I just couldn't catch the girl at the front of the blocking line and it just broke me down. And you know what...its totally ok!
I cried...so what...a little frustration tears can go along way! Kind words from team mates go every further! My derby wife successfully talked me down and I took a moment then got right on to the next drill.
Now a month ago I may have given up, taken my skates off and gone home just sure I was never gonna make it. Not tonight! Tonight I took my moment, brushed myself off and got right back too it!
This is what will make me a force to be reckoned with when my skates finally catch up to my heart! I love this sport, I love this league, it's a piece of my heart now!

There's no place like home!

Got home from Europe late last night. Vacation was great but it seems like as soon as I got home I started thuinking about derby again. I am so addicted it hurts!

Met up with some of my girls today and skated, between the sea legs and the jet lag I totally blew HOWEVER...I still went and I did my laps I even managed to slip in a Cha Cha Slide and a race! I didn't win but I didn't give up either!

It totally Ok to have a bad week!...Right?

OK so I was just OFF this week! My speed is getting better but my mind was just not there. It must be the impending vacation. But that's ok! I know I love derby and this just wasn't my week. But I didn't give up I just kept going and that's what counts!
Keep Going Roller Babies!!!!

Addiction to Derby

Ok so you know you're addicited to Derby when:
You actually call the cruise line to see if you can bring you're skates with you. Stupid NCL, the answer was no. COurse the hubby, while sweetly saying he'd lug them all over Europe even tho he didn't want to, was slightly relieved.

Bruises Bruises everywhere and not a drop to spare!

Yep Derby=Bruises!

Currently I am rocking several beautiful shades of blue and purple on various body parts. But hey its all part of the game...no really!
Todays lesson: Ya gotta fall down, You will fall down, It's OK to fall down! Basically the old adage is true! Fall down 100 times get up 101! Thats what this Freshmeat girl is gonna keep doing!!!

OH That's right...

Remembered something today. Skating is suppose to be FUN! I hit up the rink on a non-practice day to just skate some laps and work on my elusive crossover. I had a BLAST! Met Brigitte there and Brandy was having her daughter's birthday party today. And we just had fun! I skated tons of laps and prolly did more crossovers ( or attempts anyway) than ever before. We did silly dances and dodged babies and just in general had a great time.
What dawned on me is this is why I was intrigued with derby in the first place. I LOVE to skate. I love feeling like I'm flying with the wind in my hair. I love rolling around like a goof ball and pretending I have rhythm. I love cheesy roller skate music.
For a minute there I was letting some BS ( most of my own doing) get in the way of the fact that I LOVE ROLLERDERBY! Today I was reminded....

F to the E to the AR!

So I went for a walk today after practice, it was too pretty to stay in! And in my head I was coming up with the things that are holding me back. And I think I can break each one down to fear. It seems to be a irrational fear..aren't they all?

Main Problems:
Cross over...EVERYTIME!
Problem-Fear of falling
Truth-WHAT? I fall all the damn time so why does it bother me to think that I MIGHT tip over a bit in the corner?

Get the self doublt out of my head!
The problem-The echoing voice...You Can't You Can't echo's in my head!
The truth-Would I have thought 8 months ago that I'd even be ON a derby team much less at the point I'm at and how far I've come???

My body type will keep me slow forever.
The truth-Derby LOVES a bigger booty! Perhaps a little better eating habits and a fitness routine outside of practice could help though!

Things usually come so easy for me so if I hven't gotten by now I never will.
The problem-it rarely takes me this long to pick up on something.
The truth-I haven't tried to be on a sports team since High School! This is a real sport and takes skill and dedication. I got one and am working on the other!

So for any fresh meat who might read this. Don't let the problems get you down. Tell yourself the truth and go from there. If you're as addicted as I am you'll stick with it and when the time is right...release your inner Zombie!

Fresh Meat Frustration...NAH!

OK so yeah I'm still FreshMeat, its been 8 months, but WHATEVER! If I'm honest about what's up then it all boils down to my fear level. I gotta get over it STAT!

I have skills they are getting better. I will be a great team mate. And when the time is right my heart and mind will click and I will move on. For now I just gotta learn to trust in myself and become the Zen girl that I know lives in here!

Long Live the Kitty!

Practical Use of Derby Blocking...

So not once but TWICE this week I've called upon my knowledge of blocking to get people the heck out of my way.

Picture it...You're at Mardi Gras taking in a parade everyone around you is in great "spirits" including yours truly. You're catching beads, drinking beers, kissing the hubby when all of a sudden drunk girl forces her way through the crowd and is suddenly right next to you. Not just chillin have a good time like everyone else but in your face, drunk, screaming, dancing and bumping in to everyone including the families with kids. What do you do???

-I started off being nice but after the second time she bumped into me I channeled my "take no prisoners" Hero Femifist and decided to play with her a bit. First I just started with a little bit of a hip block just holding her still. Well that didn't hold her long so I leaned into her for a good couple of minutes. which worked wonders until she decided she needed a new beer....

Now there aren't many rules in New Orleans, even less during Margi Gras, but the cannon law the one that must NOT be broken is glass bottles. Guess what she brought back. Yep a glass bottle of beer. Now I'm not a tree hugger ( well I kinda am) but I'm not against glass bottles. I'm against broken glass and my feet.

So I was forced to take drastic action....I knew she put the bottle down to catch beads the next time a float got close...and she did. Right about that moment I hip checked the mess out of her, took the bottle and threw it away.

Thank goodness she got the message she went to the middle of neutral ground and calmed the heck down. But really people? Sure go out have fun get drunk...I do. But don't get gross and sloppy you never know if there's a derby girl next to you!

More to follow.

Zombie Kitty

Testing 1...2....3....