Derby is as Derby does

It was a derby practice night....so I shall write about....DERBY!!!

The good news: The "fresh meat" group got to scrimmage a little bit tonight. I even got to try and be jammer. It was pretty awesome

The bad news: No new bruises..... I know, I know that should be good news because that means I didn't get knocked on my ass like it's majob but...they are my battle scars!! It is the reminder to me that not only did I take a hit and fell, but that I got right back up again and kept going. It is a bit of a sickness and possibly issue. Oh well.

Back to scrimmage. Wait. No. That was the end of the night. Let us start at the beginning (a very good place to start?)

I began my night running into the Hess to get water. While normally a very mundane task, let me explain to you what I was wearing. Black shirt, purple short shorts, pantyhose with quite a few runs in them already (they ended up having their last run tonight...pun slightly intended) and rainbow brite like knee socks (sneakers too...but they were rather unimpressive). Pretty sure the clerk thought I was slightly nutso. (technically...he probably isn't too far off, but it's not because of my kick ass knee socks)

Practice was awesome (as always) and I didn't get my ass kicked too much (which should be awesome too but a part of me is a bit sad about this). I got to try my hand at being the jammer (she's the one who gets through the pack to score points. For those of you that are lost. I promise a "derby basics" is coming soon.) OH BOY that is a tough position to play!! But I want to try it again. More so now that I remembered as a jammer, I can hit the other girls too (derby hits people...we are not savages!) I do think I like being in the pack a bit better. But we will see.

After practice.....same outfit, but add a purple bandanna and a few gallons of sweat...Hannaford trip!!! More odd looks. Best part of the night....my 9 year old asking me if derby has been affecting my driving. I asked him why...he got quiet...and finally answered that I did a nice u-turn. I think he is lying.

Derby is really one of the best things to have ever happened to me. I am more confident, getting more fit and slightly athletic, and I now know the greatest group of women who can kick my ass in a heartbeat. Not that they would. I am just saying.... plus it is nice to have an explainable reason to own so many pairs of fishnet stockings.....

ON A SIDE NOTE. I know I cannot keep up a daily post and not bore the crap outta people. Once I do about a week's worth, I think I am going to choose a day, and switch to a weekly posting. Unless something really cool happens and I absolutely cannot contain myself. Like..... resurrection of Firefly...(hey...it could happen!)

The Geek Gene

So all day I swear I had a ton of different ideas of what to write tonight. I got home, made dinner and POOF! Gone. Which was okay as I had stuff to do (while catching up on some great tv shows :) ) However, I was still at a loss whenever I was ready to break for 5 and let my geek self go at it.

Then....came my family to save the day.

Bit of back story. My dad's side, the Burns side, is pretty much either in New York or Florida (in reference to my first cousins) When I was younger I saw a bit of some. More so of my cousins Sarah and Christa. Occasionally of Heather and April. Rarely of Todd and Chad. Then....came Facebook. We all are in touch and frankly I feel closer with them all now as an adult online than I think I had growing up. (Oh...I have a cousin Joe too....however, he has yet to show his geek...as far as I know).

All in all we are fairly geeky. Sarah and Christa are librarians. Sarah married a librarian. (geeky in a cool knowledgeable way) Christa is a gamer (MMORPG I belive) with a gamer fiancée. (If I use term y'all don't like....I apologize). Not sure about Chad. He has chickens.....I want chickens.... Same with Heather....minus the chickens. Then there is Todd and April.

I am pretty sure that when the zombie apocalypse comes, we need to find a bunker together so we can be with our own kind.....(and booze)

April....cracks me the eff up. Todd, is my comic book junkie dealer. Even though I have seen neither in over 10 years, our likes are very parallel. When a family can take up a whole thread on an episode of True Blood....that is togetherness.....in a geeky sort of way (which is what triggered this particular blog).

OH! And then there is my brother. We are 8 years apart...did not get along for the longest. But now...we geek out together all the time. Even though I don't really feel like we "grew up" much together. We now are sharing things like if a new preview for Tron is out or if there is more information about The Avengers movie (we both really hope there is an Ant Man.....and Nathan Fillion)

So...gentle reader (yeah....I know....I won't call you that again. At least not in front of your friends) this lead me to the question. Is there a "geek gene" out there. In the nature vs. nurture quest, what has drawn a family, separated by miles and years, to so many of the same interests and thoughts and opinions on those interests. Maybe there is. Maybe there isn't. If I was ambitious I could Google this. But I still have Haven to get through and an attempt at Warehouse 13 again, now that the Eureka crossover has occurred. For now I am going to assume that the Geek shall inherit the earth and in order to do so, some of us are brought to a higher calling. Someday....the masses of comic con and of the like will be the ones to survive the zombie apocalypse, because frankly, we knew it was coming. And the earth will be populated by fanboys and fangirls alike. At least from the Burns Bunker. And maybe a trekkie if I am allowed to bring one along.....I have to ask for special permission.....maybe if the trekkie brings along a certain cast member.... ;)

Roller Derby....in brief....

Before I head off to bed for the night, I figured I should say something about my favorite sport. I realized I didn't say much in my earlier blog.

I play roller derby. If you want to know what roller derby is, go to Youtube and look it up (I am to tired to figure out the link right now, but in the future....pics and videos galore!) I LOVE roller derby. More than almost anything else. As a single woman, if the guy I am interested in were to try and come between me and roller derby, he would lose. Fast. Even if it was Robert Gibbs. Or Alan Tudyk. As you get to learn about my Alan Tudyk obsession, you will see truly how much I value derby over almost anything. I have been lucky enough so far that this is not an issue.

I am on probation, which means no name yet. However, hopefully, come October, I will have one :) A good one too. Preferably geeky. What that means is I still practice with the girls, and I get to scrimmage at practice, but, no bouts yet. I am with Albany All Stars and they are an amazing group of men and women. Yes, while Roller Derby is mainly a woman's sport, we have a men's team. And in practice we scrimmage with them too.

So far only one practice have I scrimmaged, but let me tell you it was AWESOME. I got knocked down...twice! I have some sizable bruises, which, regardless of where they are, I will show anyone at anytime they ask (well....not at work....so almost anyone/anywhere) I was SORE from the earlier drills for days afterwards. However, I can not wait to do it again!! I also got some good hits/pushes in. I truly enjoy picking the person on the other team and just gunning for her.

I also have to join a committee with in the league. I am going to try to join the Public Relations/IT committee. I think I will kick butt there too :) It is my niche. Right now it is the off season, so not much seems to be going on that I can tell. Once the season begins in January, things, I hope, will get more interesting there.

Well....that is the basics, in a bit more than I originally planned to say about derby for now. As the bruises amass and the hits get harder, I will write more. Also, I am constantly looking for derby name suggestions :) Perhaps I should start a list of good names that are not already taken.....(oh yea...there is a register for derby names) Now I will try to sleep. :)

Greetings and Salutations

Okay...this is another attempt to blog. I am not great at regularly sharing my thoughts in this format, but I think I need to start more. This is my outlet for all the times I get "geeked out" about something, I can ramble here. Maybe others are equally "geeked out" and we can share the experience.

Currently I am excited about the eventual Avengers movie and all the movies that are being created to lead to that (some more than others) and Tron Legacy. I also like to rag on the Twilight movies because, well they suck. However, having read the books and seen the first three (the first two, against my will......) I feel slightly invested. I am also delving into the world of comic books with The Walking Dead and the Scott Pilgram vs. The World (must read before see movie.....) and a few others (OH! American Vampire)

TV shows wise....I am gonna stay up to date with True Blood, Eureka, Haven, and once they resume, Doctor Who, Big Bang Theory (I love Sheldon), How I met your Mother ( I love NPH) and Bones. I am also late to the following parties: SG1, BSG, and SNG (if you don't know what they mean you are either on the wrong blog or need to catch up like me). I also love Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Maddow. AND I am a huge Joss Whedon fan (Whedonite?? Whedy??). Oh so much to elaborate on. We will start with my oddest of loves.....White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Yes. Him. That nerdy looking guy that comes out and lets you know what is going on with the White House and the President. Why do I love him so? I don't know. Why do some people love, oh say, cream cheese? He is a great public speaker and I love how he stands up for his people. He is composed and not afraid to tell a reporter, in kindish words, what a jerk they are. I have a dear friend who postulates that in a few years his "filter" will clog and BS will run amok (is his filter provided by BP?? Hmmm) but I hope not. I am looking forward to six more years of him. I would take longer if possible...... *sigh* I promise, this will not be the last of him you shall hear from me :D