Nine weeks later my skates are sitting at the Bruised Boutique waiting for me to pick them up. Woooo! Now, as soon as I can get back out to N.H., I’ll post pictures.
Can we do this again tomorrow?
December 8, 2009This immortal words I spoke after my first roller derby bout and the way I continue to feel every time I play.
Here are two pictures from when Western Mass Destruction played the Killah Bees at the Providence Convention center.
Jammer: Surly Mental - Referees: Anne Persand, The Rev, Fresh Eddie Fresh
This was my second bout and first time jamming. What a way to take your breath away!
The WMD team huddle!
Surly’s special order
December 2, 2009I have on the way to me one custom order of Riedell She Devils, the 126 boot with Powerdyne Triton Aluminum Plates and black Mojo wheels. Four weeks will be well worth the wait, and a pale comparison of time to all the stepping stones of the past year. By the time I made it to the Bruised Boutique last Saturday, with birthday and holiday money from family, friends, and coworkers, I knew exactly what I wanted in my very own brand-new skates.
One year and two bouts into my derby journey I have learned some patience, a bit of pain, and a whole lot of go power. My first month into practicing with PVRD last winter I was hating rentals and broke after my first semester of grad school. One of my teammates, Holy Helga, who had been every WMD bout in the history of PVRD until her recent hiatus (we miss you!), sold me a pair of Riedell R3’s that she and another player had both gotten some use out of. Helga gave me a great deal and I was off in my first pair of quads since I was eight years old.
Here’s where I started to learn about roller skates. First, my wheels wore out quick. The R3 model comes with basic Radar wheels which basically go bald in no time. With all the drills of starting and stopping and starting and stopping the wheels I had were ready to quit. I upgraded to Sure Grip Fugitives which I’ve been using happily ever since.
Two more things made my skates that much better. After a discussion where I complained about feeling slow in my skates Sideswipe, from the Dirty Dozen, made the discovery that I did not have spacers between my bearing and axel which was causing drag to the wheel. With spacers my wheels glide more even and I became faster with less effort. I also learned about insoles. For months I skated on the raw lining of the skate boot thinking that everyone wore thick socks with their skates. Then one practice Chickadee Struction almost didn’t skate without her insoles when she forgot them and I began to question being able to see screw heads inside my boot. Once again, with the upgrade I felt faster and more confident in my step. Most noticeable was the new ability to set my feet down lightly rather than hearing every single stride.
In our league passing Level Two means you get to take a number, skater name and start scrimmaging. While I passed my test for the second level back in March, I was unable to attend the majority of scrimmage practices until mid-way through the season due to conflicts with my class schedule. For the first few bouts of the season I was detached, uninterested, because of how unattainable it seemed that I would actually be on skates at one of these events. Eventually in June and July I participated in two bouts by helping track penalties and points with the ref staff in the center of the track.
Stay tuned and I’ll tell the story of my Level Three testing and first bout next time we’re sitting around the fire.
As a tribute to my off skates days another picture by my roommate Lesley…
Such a nerd.
Scrap paper
November 27, 2009“Ring out old shapes of foul disease”
On the reverse side of scrap paper used by Du Bois’s secretary, M. G. Allison, to write a response to Dean James at Evanstown College of Liberal Arts.
Skates for Surly
November 5, 2009
Photo by Lesley Arak
After a successful first season,
Surly needs skates!
Help by making a donation to the Skates for Surly Fund. Ms. Mental will be gathering funds until after her birthday (November 21st).
A few things are timely about this campaign. First, I’ve just finished my first season. I wore used skates through my first two bouts, making sure this is something I want before considering the hundreds of dollars needed for new skates. Now, I know what I want out of my wheels.
Second, since skates are a big investment, I’ve been watching the stores/websites and sales. Bruised Boutique is a genuine ROLLER DERBY SHOP in Nashua, NH. Not only will I be able to support a regional, derby owned shop, but I will be able to take part in the 30% off skates sale going on this Black Friday. So, the $300 skate package I’ve been drooling over will now be closer to $200. Hell yes.
Here’s the order as it stands (basically, the Riedell “She Devil” Package):
- Reidell 126 boot (this link is to the 125 boot, see below for more details on the 126)
- Powerdyne Triton Aluminum Plates
- ABEC-9 Speed Bearings
- Adjustable toe stops
- Radar Tuner Wheels (red grippy or black sticky)
According to Sin City Skates, “These made in the USA boots feature super soft quality leather comfort with the Riedell patented “ever-dri” liner on the inside. They’re based on the 125 design, but altered to better fit female skaters, with a “combo last” – a C width toe and B width heel. They feature Lace-to-toe design for extra comfort on feet of any width, and a reinforced (now longer!) leather / velcro speed strap to allow the closest fit, and a rolled collar around the ankle. They also feature Riedell’s inner counter for extra arch support and heel immobilization, to minimize ankle rolling.”
Any more upgrade to the wheels would consist of going through our league mechanical engineer, Sideswipe/Jacob, who has been known to craft specialized wheels and put them on aluminum hubs instead of nylon. Support your local machinist!
Additional wish list items:
- Customization for white leather tongue on skate for “mary jane” stylization (yay Temple!) – One customization is $60, but for three it’s only $90. The white tongue is the only cosmetic change I would make, but I might add more padding to the tongue for my bony foot or more heel support.
- 187 Pro Knee Pads
- Toe Saver Toe Guard
So please, help Surly get new wheels!
Visit the campaign page here:
Skates for Surly
Photo by Jared Barney
Practice makes perfect
June 17, 2009
Bruise from practice on day 3
Finally I’m falling on the right places.
This was a very swollen bruise, only took about two weeks to heal with plenty of ice packs and arnica.
Always over my shoulder
May 5, 2009Last night after roller derby practice I got pulled over by the Palmer police…
For going slow.
The positive spin on the situation is that I was going slow. I wear contacts for practice because they are more comfortable than glasses when I’ve got a helmet on, and they provide better peripheral vision; last night was the first time I had worn them in over a week and my eyes were tired. It was also raining. The officer was on the way to the station and wanted to make sure I was okay – he was actually nice about it and said I was doing the right thing by going slow (Yeah, I know) but that I had apparently cut over the white line a few times and he wanted to check. Funny, Palmer’s white lines are somewhat non-existent. I’ll remember to pretend the paint is there next time.
Internship proceedings
May 1, 2009It’s been a few weeks since an update on my internship project at Keene State. I’m actually just about to wrap up my work here at the Mason Library and it’s been an exciting and extremely informative learning experience. I’ve navigated library politics, technological issues, interpersonal hurdles and archival methods questions.
[More later...]
[EDIT 2009.11.]
You can now find the Keene Normal School Digital Exhibit here:
http://www.keene.edu/library/speccoll/kns.cfm
Photo gallery : Excerpts from Keene Normal School Annual Catalogs 1910-1939
Mason Library at KSC :Mason Library Blog : Keene Normal School Archive
I also had my completed DACS and EAD ready finding aid from last semester : KNS Finding Aid.
For an assignment in my Archives Access and Use class (LIS 440) this semester I marked up said finding aid in EAD.
