a bit of a change for winter...

I've experimented with dying my hair dark a few times. The first was a wash in wash out colour, so I wasn't stuck with it for long, but in my undergrad years (about 6 years ago) I decided to go for a chocolatey brown to cover my natural shade of 'mouse' (...hare coloured hair). Being a complete nitwit like usual I left it on for far too long and it went BLACK.

Unfortunately, this wasn't my only problem, as I had also a) not used enough dye, and b) missed a shitload of hair...so I ended up with a sort of cammo effect at the back of my hair when it blew about and you could see under the top layer *glum* I carried on dying my roots until I fancied a colour change. To do this I simply went down a few shades and spread the colour all over my light roots and dark tresses. The result was long, dark, cammo effect hair...with ginger roots. Nice.

This awful disaster encouraged me to give in to the desire to keep my money for things other than my hair, and I went to a hairdressers for a professional colour and cut. The shop owner's exact words to me (in broken spanish) were "what the hell have you done to your hair?!" and they soon fixed it with the beautiful chocolatey brown that I'd wanted all those years ago. The next time I went back, however, they left the dye on for too long (like I did) and I ended up with black again. I never went back or dyed it again and four years later it was FINALLY back to it's original colour, and not just that but I actually LIKED it! And now I've gone and ruined it with another couple of bottles of chocolate brown.

And guess what?...

It's gone black...

I think I'm cursed!!





I'd had the inclination to dye it for a few weeks and I'd had the bottles of dye for a few days without plucking up the courage to do it...but then my little sister came round for a visit and she talked me into doing it, and even helped me! The result is a nice even coverage (no cammo effect!), but my paranoia about what time we'd actually finished meant that I left it on too long and so it's as dark as you see in the pics. I don't think it'll fade either as it's a fade resistant brand...

I am getting used to it though!

In other, skating related news, me and my teacher skater buddy have a new group of kids in the after-school club. They're all a year or two older than most of the last group, and their skating in week one was pretty much as good as the first group's skills were by the end of the 9 week course! One kid was even pulling off a split stance, crossovers and attempting backwards skating...he was phenomenal! I couldn't pull off a skate move without him trying to copy it (and mostly succeeding!)

We've decided we're going to get this group to do more planned activities in the sessions than the last...who mostly just skated around, played tig, shot hoops and planned out their own dance routines...in the first session we ambushed them with a weaving paceline because their skills on the whole were too good not to test out. After they got the hang of keeping up with each other they actually managed to do the drill better than most of the rollergirls!! They were concentrating on their skating, keeping the chatter down, and waiting patiently for their turn...if only the CCR could behave as well when I'm coaching!! ha ha

I can't wait for next week's session and I've started planning out derby drills that kids without pads and mouthgurads can do with ease! I may have to start pinching more of the CCR hire kit at the weekend, just so I can get these kids skating safely...

The good thing about this new group is that it's 90% girls, so it's a potential roller derby team in itself, already manned with refs!!

Hopefully this should develop into something interesting as the weeks go by and we find out what we can do!

Muchos dark-maned Gory love xx

What a difference the Heel makes...

I’ve been skating for well over 18 months now (end of Jan ’07 to now, Sept ’08…so…erm…20 months) but I’ve only owned a few pairs of skates and although I’ve read lots of stuff about various skate packages, I can only vouch for the ones I’ve tried.

When I upgraded from Riedell R3s to Wickeds I put outdoor wheels on my old skates and then they’ve pretty much been left to gather dust since. I’m not a great fan of outdoor skating (I love the skating, but I hate the fear it gives me…and the fact that the public are out there…and that they like to take the piss) so since last September I’ve only worn them a few times, and most of those have been on a completely different surface to the one I use my Wickeds on.

Tuesday just gone I decided to take them to the after-school club with me, because all the kids use outdoor wheels, as does the teacher who I’m helping, and considering my R3s were in the car I thought ‘What they hey…it’s one less pair of skates to carry to the car!’ and left my Wickeds at home. So I strapped on my old, taped up skates (to the sound of many small voices saying ‘Miss! Those are different to the ones you had last week Miss!’) and found that on a smooth floor they feel a hell of a lot flatter than my Wickeds do.

A few of the kids are keen on pulling off new tricks on their wheels, so I tried to show them the only trick I can do (skating ultra-low then extending a leg out straight in front of me so I’m on one foot), but it turns out that myt ability to do said ‘trick’ is based on the somewhat higher heel of my Wickeds. Wearing my flatter R3s I crouched down, realised my feet were at all the wrong angle and promptly fell on my ass. Hard. And to the tune of ‘SHE FELL OVER’…thanks kids. You’re so forgiving…Anyway, despite my terrible attempt at coolness (and my fast failure) it didn’t put any of the kids off and by the end of the period loads of them were really keen to show off their skills. They were spinning, skating in really low crouches (scooting themselves along with their hands), jumping with no fear...I was impressed!

I’ll wear my Wickeds this Tuesday and hopefully my skills will return to me…maybe.

I’ve missed all our practice sessions this week…boo at me! I started the week off feeling really run down and it’s slowly turned into a horrible head cold. I look like Rudolf the red nosed Rollergirl…perhaps I should tog myself up in a pair of fuzzy antlers and get my picture taken for Christmas cards? It’d certainly bring cheer to people!

I’m going to spend the rest of today and tomorrow eating and sleeping loads so I can be back at practice on Monday…kleenex in hand (and pocket, and stuffed up my sleeve…I predict I’ll need an awful lot of it)

Decisions decisions...

I’m terrible at getting things done (blogging for one)…but my biggest problem is that I hate making decisions. It means that I miss out on so much…

Right now I’m struggling with my concience when it comes to the things I really want to do, like get tattoos and dye my hair ridiculous colours. I guess it’s a fear of the unknown, and instead of being the girl I used to be (who dyed her hair vibrant shades of red from the age of 11 and imagined a rebellious adulthood) I’ve grown into a woman who cares far too much what others think, and who doesn’t trust that her choices will lead to an outcome she can deal with.

Roller Derby has been a huge changing force in my life, and I feel much more confident with what my body can do. It’s definitely stronger and more capable than it’s ever been, and I feel at my best when I’m in practice. I feel safe with my league mates (who are all my friends) and I can really be myself around them, but although I’ll happily strut around in micro-shorts and fishnets at practice (and the pub…lol) I still feel uncomfortable and like I’m being stared at if I dress up when I go out. It’s a completely ridiculous state of affairs.

When it comes to tattoos, I have big plans for sleeves and a chest piece. They’re all planned out and I’ve known what I want for years now (one of the downfalls of having a tattooist boyfriend…I think about tatoos all the time but I’m not allowed any because he doesn’t want me to end up with a load of ink I’ll regret) but I can’t bring myself to get them done. My best friends recently had some unwanted attention because of their visible tattoos and it makes me wonder how I’ll handle people commenting on any visible ink I get done…I know a lady who’s really heavily covered and she’s even had a guy (a complete stranger) go to pull her top away from her chest to get a better look at her work! I’d want to club someone if they did that to me, and I’m pretty sure that’s not acceptable behaviour…even if someone is trying to undress you in a supermarket!

I can’t predict how having sleeves and a chest piece will make me feel, and no one can tell me what it’ll be like…there’s no way I could ever know what it’ll be like until it’s done, and once it’s done there’s going to be no going back (only covering up, and I’m the kind of person who’s thermostat runs on ‘tropical’ most of the time…long sleeves are the very bottom of my outfit choices).

I recently had to make a skate decision too…and although I really wanted a pair of Black Widows I don’t want to get a pricey set of skates that don’t fit like a glove. I’m hoping to go to RollerCon next year (or visit the States or Canada at least) so I’ll get them then when I can try them on…and this time round I’m going for another pair of Wickeds, but this time not a size too big!

I’m also getting them with Swiss bearings and pink Mojo wheels, which I’m assured are super-grippy and wonderful to skate on! I really can’t wait! I know I’ve not been happy with my current Wickeds, but they’re far too big for me, even with a really thick gel insole. I’m pretty sure that going down to a 7.5 will make the world of difference to my poor crampy feet. At the moment I have to shuffle my feet to the back of my boot after every drill or jam, and walking on my toe stops isn’t as easy as it should be because my foot moves around in the boot so much. Tightening my laces isn’t really an option either as that’s when the crampy foot-death occurs, which hinders my skating as much as a flappy boot does.

*fingers crossed* they’re going to fit me…I think I’ll cut my toes off if they don’t.

This afternoon is the second after-school skating session that I’m helping run. I forgot to take my camera last week so this week I must remember it. The kids are SO funny once they’ve got those skates on…and they’re absolutely fearless! If only adults could be persuaded to do squat-jumps on wheels, the whole country would be Roller Derby mad by now!

Last week I had to cart 25 pairs of skates with me (26 if you include mine), but now I’ve narrowed it down to the sizes I need I’ll only have to carry about 15 pairs…across a playground and up two flights of stairs…no wonder my biceps were screaming last Wednesday!

In other Roller Derby news, I’m REALLY looking forward to the upcoming visit of Payne D. Spencer who’s going to be joining us for lots of skating and drinking fun at the start of October! We’re going to have a blast, and I can’t wait for her to meet some of the other UK Roller Derby Leagues!…Roll on October!