This is the last game of the season in the Bay Area! The Championship game is between Bay Area Derby Girls so-far undefeated Richmond Wrecking Belles and San Francisco Shevil Dead. Buy tickets online or from me in person.
The Bay Area Derby Girls are always on the lookout for new local sponsors for the league. If you're interested in advertising in the Championship Bout game program (we have spots available from $25 and up) please contact me! Other sponsorship opportunities are available as well.
I spent several hours on Saturday at Fast Girl Skates trying on boots for new skates. It's fun to have a sales person talk to you about your pain tolerance as a means for deciding what to buy, how small to go. "Be prepared for your toe nails to fall off at the end of the season." This is true dedication.
I've been happily skating in my first Carrera speed skates, purchased 4 years ago, because I didn't want to go through breaking in another boot. However, since I started skating again they no longer feel comfy, but more like clown shoes. I want skates that fit like a glove, and since leather stretches, I've got to be prepared to go through some pain. If it makes me faster, I'm willing to endure.
Henry's daughter Sophia has started skating with the Tootsy Rollers - a pee wee roller derby league in Seattle. Instead of contact blocking their goal is to grab flags off the jammer's waist. I'm bummed I haven't seen her skate yet, but someone took this video at a recent practice (Sophia's the girl with the green pants in back).
The Tootsy Rollers are having their debut bout on Dec 2nd at Bellevue Skate King. They'll be playing at halftime for the Seattle Derby Brats game. The Derby Brats are a jr league made up of jr high school girls.
Mav Tv - "TV For Men By Men" is airing full footage of championship games in their regular programming. This is such an exciting time to be involved in the sport! I'm also looking forward to a full return back to the game starting next season. I'm sure I'll be posting more news here as I get back up to speed.
View the rest of the Mav TV promos on the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's media page.
Have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon or a helicopter? Where did you go?
In 2003 we went to Kauai, HI for a family wedding. We also packed in snorkeling, boating, hiking, and a helicopter ride. I've got a longtime fear of flying, but I took a Dramamine and tried not to think of my impending death for the ride. The views were gorgeous, but I'm OK with not going again on our next trip.
In what seems to be less and less common lately, this weekend I spent in San Francisco. I purposefully made no plans, keeping myself open for whatever came my way - and boy did it!
On Friday afternoon I found out about a last minute small solo Black Francis show at my home away from work - the Utah Saloon. Through a series of connections and good luck (and extra hours hanging out at the bar) I was able to land tickets for myself and friends to see this late show. We scored seats above stage, where I got an uninterrupted view of the top of his head for the 2 hour long ride. He played new songs, some old Frank Black tunes as well as several old Pixies songs. Simon tells the story better.
Saturday I slept in and read more of a book I'm really enjoying - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was hooked immediately in the first couple of pages, where she describes sitting in an Internet cafe in front of Piazza Barbarini - exactly where I went for my few internet fixes during my trip in 2004 and snapped this shot of the Triton fountain.
Saturday night I spontaneously decided to check out yoga at the new NY based center near my house - Laughing Lotus. The space is clean and uplifting and I sweated a good deal. The yoga was so great, and of course I'm inspired by Eat, Pray, Love, so I decided to begin going to morning Yoga sessions. I'm one day in and so far it's great.
Afterward Dan and I participated in Lights Out San Francisco and had dinner by (mostly) candlelight at Delfina. When the lights came back on I discovered my sweater inside out - an unfortunate side affect of getting dressed in the dark.
Yesterday David Recordan and Brad Whitaker let me tag along on my first bay area hike. We met up with the hike planner (after a twisty, pukey drive through hills) in the Los Gatos area and did a strenuous track mostly along a ridge giving us a great view of both green trees and dry, grassy hills. At the top we were rewarded by a view of the south bay all the way over to Oakland, with the ocean clearly seen behind us.
It was gorgeous and well worth the hike.
The Bay Area Derby Girls have a game this weekend at the San Jose Civic Auditorium - and this time all ages!
Anyone interested in going with me gets the benefit of inside knowledge of players and teams, in depth rules explanation, and over-excited screaming at refs!
Last night I attended my first ever African-Brazillian dance class with the Rhythm and Motion Dance and Fitness Studio at ODC Dance in the Mission. The building and studios are new, well kept and beautiful but simply designed. The class was a mixture of beginners and advanced dancers, and much much harder than I had prepared myself for. A suggestion was made to drop in and watch first to get over my anxiety about going, but I'm more of a do-er than a watcher so I came prepared to dance.
I paid my $12 and watched the end of a couple of classes to get me sufficiently nervous. I saw the end of a modern dance class where a beautiful 8 month pregnant woman dancing to Enigma brought tears to my eyes. When our own class started, I was feeling relaxed and positive. The next 90 minutes would beat that down, however, as we moved through some (for me) complex choreographed moves (to the beat of drums) that made me feel more white than I've ever felt in my life. I swear I have better timing and rhythm than anyone would have seen last night. It turns out the last 10 years of working in the tech industry hasn't exactly been great for my attention span, either. I was usually able to remember about three different eight count moves before my mind would wander or I'd draw a blank.
We ended the class in song and more free-form dance, which was a highlight of the evening. I was sweaty and smiling and exhausted, so I guess I'll be going back.
What song do you wish would never show up on a karaoke list?
1. Nothing by the Eagles
2. NO Stairway to Heaven
