I won't go too much into work detail as that will stress me out. It's better to stay within this false sense of comfort leading up the fortnight before Christmas meltdown.
Tomorrow night, the Victorian Roller Derby League (VRDL) is holding our first public demonstration. We've invited the folks who have helped us along the along as well as friends and family who've been wondering where we've been for the past 9 months. And to think, all of this started with a casual skate outside Melbourne Museum with a woman I met on Myspace.
October is a blur but whilst November is still pretty fresh in my mind, I'll blog about that.
On the weekend of November 10-11, the VRDL hosted the inaugural National Roller Derby Boot Camp. We had 70+ skaters and support from Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales converge on Rawson Village Retreat for two days of full-on training, both on and off skates. We had the absolute pleasure of welcoming Smarty Pants from the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, the original revivalists of modern day roller derby.
After camp, Smarty came back to Melbourne and coached our ladies for the next 3 weeks. If you had said to me a year ago that I'd have skated with anyone from TXRD, much less Smarty Pants, I would have told you to get lost (or worse). It was nice to receive some validation from Smarty that after all the months of self-taught DIY roller derby, we were definitely on the right path.
On a side note, I know I'm not supposed to be skating because of my knees but after national derby camp and spending time with Smarty, I've been inspired to buy new skates and put myself out there in 2008. I'm not fully committing to getting back on skates right now as I'm going to Cambodia in February to take part in a charity bike ride from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and can't really afford to injure myself.
This might seem like an aimless rambling blog but I'm also trying to watch 'Survivor: China' at the same time.
Anyway, here are some photos from November:
This is my Mama T. bearing ring, made for my by Otto from the Steel City Roller Derby League. Behind it are my new skates. Yes, I'm using the macro function on my camera.
This are my new Riedell Wicked 265s. In the background is my bike, which I love, but will be leaving behind in Cambodia.
Smarty Pants, three-time League Champion, national and international roller derby coach and her publicity manager.
Why there are no balls in roller derby or how not to catch a Nerf football.
Participants of the 2007 National Roller Derby Boot Camp (aka the blurriest photo in the world).
Oh, and I went on my very first Critical Mass Bike Ride last week... YAY!
