Productivity

It's amazing how much work you get done on a friday before a week long vacation!  Well, I still need to come to work on monday  -_-

But I figured I'd show you guys a super accurate and life like picture of my gear bag!  Yes, I fit everything (and then many somes) into a regular $25 Jansport backpack.  The front pocket is also very spacious and I carry allen wrenches (imperial and metric sets) three socket wrenches (the Y, a straight one, and a ratchet), and that Reidell skate key that comes with the R3s for random toestops.  Oh, and random toestops.

How to size skate boots

There are way too many styles of skates out there and everybody will find comfort in different shapes.  Here are the things that I look at when I try on new boots.

1. Have you played any other sports? What sort of shoes did you wear for that? My best analogy is to find skates that fit like soccer cleats. You want the leather to hug your feet so that all of your power is transferred directly into them and into the floor.  If your foot moves around inside, you can risk rolling your ankle, stubbing your toes, and getting blisters and abrasions.
2. Different socks will give you a different relationship with your skate.  A lot of skaters with more experience (and expensive skates) will skate barefoot.  If you have more delicate feet or if your skates aren't nice leather, you might want to go for a thin athletic sock.  I used to skate barefoot but I don't remember why I started wearing socks again, and now it is just habit.  I prefer scratchy cotton socks because they keep me from sliding around.  Other people like dirty socks for the same reason.  While some other people will prefer hose or thicker hiking socks, but I do not know their reasoning for their choice.  Think about this when sizing your skates.
3. Boot height.  If you are afraid of rolling your ankles, hightop boots are not going to protect you.  Constant skating (and off skates workouts) will make your ankles stronger and less prone to sprains.  In the meantime, you can wear an ankle brace for support if you must.  What hightop boots _do_ help with is protecting your ankles when you get kicked.  What other options are there to hightops? Most skates hit exactly at the ankle bone, while some brands offer ultra low cut boots that end below that. I love the Riedell 195 ultra low cut boot because anything I tried before restricted my range of motion and cut into the vein I have running directly over the inside ankle bone on my right foot.
4. Material.  While there are vegan skates (and they will proudly announce it), synthetic toppers have a tendency to wear out faster than leather.  If you are a smaller skater, you can sometimes get away with this because you are exerting less force on them and demanding less support.  Even then, some people do manage to get several years out of R3s and swear by them.  For everybody else, most skates will be full grain leather, with some higher end styles offering "kangatan".  Unfortunately, this does not mean that they are supple kangaroo leather.  They are, however, cowhide that has been treated to behave as such. Some skates will also make a huge deal about being heat moldable.  All leather and most vegan skates are heat moldable because they all have plastic counters (the stiffer pieces in the boots around the heel and side of the toes) and interfacing.  For this same reason, they will stretch and deform the longer you skate in them, and even worse if you leave them in your hot car.

If you need more things to consider, look at what shoes you like to wear for different activities and try to imagine how that would translate into skating.  Do they get in your way? Is there a part of them that is uncomfortable?

PRICE  

A beginner pair of skates can cost $100-250, depending on whether they are a color other than black, or if they have upgraded the wheels and toestops.  Again, many people love these and can skate a few years on them!  If you do plan on skating for a longer while and have some money to spend, an intermediate pair (or bottom level good skate) can cost ~$350. Once you start looking at "competition" level skates, they can start at $200-600 just for the boot, plus $50-350 just for the plates, plus $60-120 for the wheels, plus $15-30 toestops, plus $8-200 bearings... So yeah.

You also don't need to buy a super duper awesome pair of skates all at once!  Most of us will tinker and switch out parts one at a time.  Wheels and toestops are normally the first to go, since you will eventually want different sets of wheels depending on what surface you are going to skate on. At the very least, you should have a set for your home rink and a set for skating outside (in parades!).  If your skates come with shitty wheels by default *cough*R3*cough*, you can use those outside and get real wheels for practice.

A lot of websites will also have huge sales the week prior to Thanksgiving and every other major holiday.  Five On Five will normally put out a list of all the stores and what sales they are having.  Skating rinks will often offer 20% on MSRP. derbywarehouse.com and bruisedboutique.com are two of the more popular/well stocked online stores.

SIZING

The reason I started this post. Each manufacturer will make skates however the hell they want to.  Most of them will follow standard mens sizes, and going with "two sizes smaller than your regular shoes" is a relatively innocent place to start your search.  Mind you, I can wear shoes anywhere between a 9.5-11.5, and have been known to wear smaller if the shoes are cute enough, but skate in a 7.5.  This also doesn't account for the shape of your foot.  Since heel slippage is one of the biggest complaints skaters have, a lot of newer skates have started making much narrower heelcups (this can be ameliorated with heat molding and/or inserts).  The best thing you can do is go to the manufacturer's website and print out their sizing guide.

1. Make sure you are printing true to size.
2. Stand on a piece of paper and have someone else trace your feet, and cut them out.  Do both in case there is a noticeable discrepancy between their sizes.
3. Place your foot tracings on the sizing guides and see which one would give you the truest fit.
• Some brands will use different lasts (foot shapes) for different models. In some cases, you can even mix and match the front and back halves if your feet have a very distinct shape.  Some brands will even allow you to buy two different sizes if your feet have a noticeable difference.

Riedell: https://www.roller.riedellskates.com/sizing-help

Bont: http://www.bontcycling.com/items/support/sizeChart.html

Antik doesn't have anything on their site: http://www.derbywarehouse.com/skatesizing.html

Sure Grip's isn't helpful, either: http://ctmfx.jzxnz.servertrust.com/v/vspfiles/images/BOOT.pdf

So yeah, there are a lot of options and a lot of things to take into account.  Whenever possible, try someone else's skates on, or go to a "local" retailer.  

• olympicskatingcenter.com  Mac at the Harrisburg (Enola) rink is very knowledgeable, but often errs on the side of cheap.  He hates to make people pay for expensive skates when they might drop out in a year. He will give you the derby discount.
• funtastikonline.net Funtastic is in Mechanicsburg.  They are primarily a skateboard shop, but the guys are very nice and have been breaking into derby for the past four years.
• squareup.com/market/bentleys-skate-shop  Bentleys in Pottstown is owned by one of their refs. 
• apexskateshop.com Apex is a shop towards Philly owned by Kick Ash and V-Diva.  Kick Ash is VERY knowledgeable about gear and will help you find a perfect fit!  She is also ridiculously distracted, so make sure you keep her on topic and you have a lot of time to spare.
• If you are on the Pittsburgh side, Doc Sk8 is a very sweet yet crochety old man that has been building skates for eons.  His garage in Butler County is overflowing with skates that he builds and fixes for SCRD, and he will go out of his way to make sure you are ultimately equipped. 

These are the sellers that I have personally dealt with, but there are definitely a few more in PA that I can't remember.  And, of course, a few more in larger cities, like Bonny Thunder's Five Stride in NYC.

Also, I am 99.9% sure that the moment you ask someone else, they will have a completely different approach to skates.  Because everybody in derby has opinions, and they are most often different than mine. And I didn't even get into plates -_-; Happy hunting!


ETA link with good explanation on bushings/cushions.
Plate measuring explanation (in spanish with images)

I did the thing! But she'll probably score the points.

A girl recently transferred to SCAR from California and decided to change her skate name to Zombabe.  I told her she should totally paint her helmet into a brain, but apparently people charge a shitload to do this, and she claimed she didn't have the skill to do it herself.  So I jumped in head first.

1) First, I cleaned off the helmet with alcohol. Simple enough.

2) I traced some pencil lines where I wanted the folds to go, and then filled it in with paint markers.  I didn't particularly like how this looked, but I figured it would adhere pretty well to the helmet and give a good base layer.

3) Clearcoat

4) Clearcoat

5) Clearcoat

6) The easiest thing for me to use was acrylic paint.  It comes in all colors, and it is pretty stable once it dries.  I had to do about three layers overall to get full coverage and good detail.

7) Clearcoat

8) Clearcoat

9) Did I mention Clearcoat?  I even did a light layer after the first acrylic layer.  I want this paint job to survive being banged up in a gear bag.

10) I wanted to add a sblechy red jelly feel to it between the folds, so I caked on red glitter glue.  Again, it took a few layers to build up well, and I probably did a couple of clearcoats in between, for good measure.

11) I added the green shading with a translucent acrylic made for stained glass.  I'm not too thrilled that there wasn't black in my set, so the green came out pretty neon.  But it looked pretty cool all in all.  With probably eight more clearcoats.

12)  In the end, she added name stickers.  I think they fit well.

I did not add a penis.  I have no idea what you are talking about!  Get your mind out of the gutter.

 The vulva is totally legit.

Also, the clearcoat is just Rust-oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Gloss in Clear.  Maybe less than half a can?  And the beauty is that each coat didn't have to be perfect, since I put so many on in the end.  Just give it about 20 minutes between each coat.

Crucify the insincere

I got a new helmet.  And SP is now touring with MM.  Dave claims he wants to go see them in Toronto, which I won't oppose to (despite it being Pennsic Middle Sunday).  I already told him he needs to do something for our third anniversary, and this would be a pretty decent Something.  It doesn't even need to be romantic!  Which he so vehemently claims he isn't.

I find it amusing I took this picture the same day (feb 19) I painted my helmet, despite them not announcing the concert until about a month ago.

Skate Plate Mounting

I got a new pair of Riedell 195 redlines and mounted my Arius plates to them.  This was a beautiful decision.

There wasn't much space on the boot for the plates, so I pretty much just centered them and tried to avoid the stitching.

I chose to use the same holes that had been used to mount to the Bont boots and traced them.

I first drilled a pilot hole with a smaller drill bit.

Second pass was with a bit close to the size of the screw's core.

After that, I just screwed them in.  I had to get some odd tee nuts to put inside the boot because I couldn't find any bolts with a flat enough head.

All in all, I'm happy with my work.  I love my riedells.

Just keep swimming.

I finally said Fuck It and went to the Natatorium yesterday.  It was soooooo awesommmmmmeeeee!!!! I did 20 laps (1 km) where I alternated 5 crawl with 5 back, and finished in 32 minutes.  I hadn't done laps since 2008!  So I don't really know if it was a good time or not, but I loved every second of it (that I wasn't getting water up my nose).  And then I had regular derby practice, which was started with 40 laps in 6 minutes.  Twice.  I finally got that over all body exhaustion I hadn't gotten at the gym on tuesday.  Unfortunately, I was so hopped up on endorphines that I still couldn't sleep.

But I loved it!  And I'm so glad that I convinced myself to take the plunge (ha, ha) even though I was on a tight schedule due to practice, couldn't find my Speedo and had to wear a VS tankini (which probably slowed me down every time I had to pull it back into place), and was perpetually moist until I woke up this morning.  Love!

Roller Derby Swap

We like our tacos H.A.R.D!

How long have you been involved with derby?
The first proof I have of a bout was feb 2009 HARD vs Canadia, though I loved watching Rollergirls in 2005 and was constantly dreaming of derby. My first practice was August 23, 2010 ^_^

What’s your favorite position?
Girl on top.
Wait, you mean derby, don’t you? 4 (back outer blocker). As an NSO I love being in the penalty crew and tracking or running the box.

Do you have another job with your league?
Trying to not replace the black sheep that have recently defected/quit. Other than that, I am the new webmaster at Harrisburg Area Roller Derby.

Any derby-related crafty projects to show off?
Not yet. I made a denudu hat for our head ref, but nothing yet for me or specifically derby related.
Oh yeah! I sewed some helmet panties for my old league, and I made some bearing in resin necklaces once. And bake sales. Lots of bake sales.

Allergies/Allergens to Cats/Smoke/Anything else? - please list everything
I am allergic to scents (candles, body products, soaks)

Do you have pets? If so, what kind?
Big ass cat!

If you have fluffy pets, can you keep their fluffies out of your handmades/yarn/package?
Mostly. He’s not allowed into the attic where I have my craft room.

If you or anyone in your household smokes inside/outside? Can you keep the smoke out of your work/yarn?
No smoke here.

Anyone here you’ve swapped with (sent to or received from) before?
Nope.

Do you have shipping preferences/additional mailing/delivery instructions that your partner had better know about, or if you may intend to change address?
Nope.

Favs- 
Favorite yarns: indie dyed, natural fibers, less than 20% acrylic.
Favorite fibers: anything that isn’t scratchy, and NO SYNTHETICS.
Favorite color (ONE): scarlet
Favorite color in combo with your Favorite color: black or army green
Any other favorite things you wish to divulge: I am a big damn nerd! Details are onmy blog under the swap tag.

Least Favs- 
Least favorite fibers: Did I mention acrylic yet? I’m also meh about cotton, but specifically Peaches and Cream.
Other least favorite “things” and/or have enough of: zauberball is splitty and noro is horribly scratchy.

Do you knit/crochet/spin/weave/something else? Knit, crochet, spin and sew.

Coffee: coffee maker, single cup cone, french press, iced, hot? Crappy two cup coffee maker, hot, light roast, flavors allowed.

Tea: pot, cup, loose, bag, iced, hot? Loose, kettle, hot, chai! I could kill for a very large french press travel mug (for both coffee and/or tea).

Snack/Flavor preferences – salty and /or sweet suggestions: I live carb free, so I’m ok without snacks due to logistics.

Fragrance preferences likes/dislikes: I like chamomile and honeysuckle but get saturation headaches easily.

Which post in the Wish List thread is yours (indicate number and link)? 277

Do you have any wishlists at any online stores (link)? Just what I have mentioned on my blog.

Can you think of anything else your partner should know? I’ve been in a lot of swaps, and the one thing that is the worst insult is when a package is generic and steril, and goes specifically against things a swapee has explained.

SWAP RELATED 
What is your position in Derby? 2 and 4 (outside blocker), multi purpose NSO with a preference for penalty tracking/enforcing

Your favorite team & their colors? Harrisburg Area Roller Derby, nuclear green!

Your team & colors if you play? NSO pink is also appreciated.

What Derby athlete would you most like to meet? already met Joan of Dark, and everybody else already has enough smoke being blown up their ass.

Who is the coolest Derby person you have gotten an autograph from? Not my thing.

IMPORTANT 
Have you read the rules page and the rules thread? Yes ma’am!
Do you understand that check in is mandatory on the required dates listed at the top of this thread? Yeppers.
Do you understand that posting a “Thank You” (in the thank you thread) is mandatory upon receipt of your package (pictures can be added at a later date)?Very much so.
Do you understand that it is mandatory to PM to me your Delivery Confirmation # or Customs Form number upon shipping? Mhm.
Do you know what you will need to do if you are unable to complete this swap and what will happen to your ability to swap with us in the future if you do not follow some/any/all of the rules? Yes.

How long have you been involved with derby?
The first proof I have of a bout was feb 2009 HARD vs Canadia, though I loved watching Rollergirls in 2005 and was constantly dreaming of derby. My first practice was August 23, 2010 ^_^

What’s your favorite position?
Girl on top.
Wait, you mean derby, don’t you? 4 (back outer blocker). As an NSO I love being in the penalty crew and tracking or running the box.

Do you have another job with your league?
Trying to not replace the black sheep that have recently defected/quit. Other than that, I am the new webmaster at Harrisburg Area Roller Derby.

Any derby-related crafty projects to show off?
Not yet. I made a denudu hat for our head ref, but nothing yet for me or specifically derby related.
Oh yeah! I sewed some helmet panties for my old league, and I made some bearing in resin necklaces once. And bake sales. Lots of bake sales.

What notions do you like/need/want?
I love project bags of all sizes! I normally end up using them as a purse until they fall appart. I like anything cute, like a pretty needle gauge or tape measure, and I can always use counters/rosaries and stitch markers. I wouldn’t mind an organizing case for my knitpicks interchangeables and the 20 cables I have for them.

What notions do you hate/have too many of/just don’t need?
I keep getting dropped stitch hook keychains.

What’s your derby name/number, if you have one?
Anya Arson, 0

Do you like/wear jewelry? If so, what?
I like it, but I forget to put it on because I don’t like taking it off at the rink.

What are your fave patterns from Knockdown Knits?
I love Joan and appreciate the book, but the patterns are not my cup of tea . The felted skate bag is nice if it actually fits my whole gear. If not, it’s still a nice project bag.

Do you want local league merch? If so, what kinds of things do you like (shirts, buttons, stickers, etc)?
I don’t collect swag, but I might start pinning up a hat I was gifted.

Do you like purses/bags/totes?
YES. I can never have enough bags of any size!

How do you feel about hats?
I lurves hattts!

Have you ever gone by another Ravelry name and if so what was it?
Nope. I’m choperena everywhere (other than derby and SCA).

What’s the story behind your derby name (if you have one)?
When I first started watching derby, I wanted to be Mexi Cans (I was a 38G back then), until Madhouse Mexi joined the league I watched and now play for. My second choice was Moctezuma’s Revenge, but the girl I co-founded a different league with vetoed it vehemently. I finally came up with Anya Arson because I am a complete Buffy fanatic, I relate way too much with Anyanka’s character and past, I love fire, and I love the “on your arse” pun. I also went out of my way to not choose something sexual because at the time I was getting a teaching cert and didn’t want anything… compromising.

Skulls? Love ‘em, they’re okay, or not really a fan?
I love morbid art, including sculls.

How do you like to accessorize for bouts? (Colors, themes,etc.)
Nuclear Green uniform top, black flame capri DerbySkinz (which I absolutely hate because the girl can’t measure herself out of a paper bag), and a red-yellow gradient bandana. I’ve tried doing makeup, but I haven’t found anything intense enough to show up on my face. My skin is just a chameleon when it comes to color.

How do you feel about leg warmers?
I like them for everyday wear, but I overheat on the track. My calves are 15” around.

Derby Wife
I kind of had a derby wife when I started, until she pushed me out of the league. I got a proposal when I moved to my current league, but she stopped coming to practice before I could give her an answer. Now I’m dating her ex boyfriend.

What is your favourite yarn weight to work with?
Anything in the “sock” range. I also double up on lace to achieve adequate thicknesses.

Talk to me about wheels. Are you a wheel junky? Do you need a way to keep all your wheels in order? Would you prefer a cube bag, or a sausage bag, or an infinite screw, or an idea that I have that reminds me ofmeccanos, or a briefcase, or something completely different? How many sets of wheels do you need to keep? 
I only have four sets of wheels, and any system would work.

How would you feel about a bag that can serve as skate bag and double as a large project bag? Would you want a messenger bag, backpack or dufflebag? Pockets? While I have a skate bag, I wouldn’t mind one that’s purdy. I’d only need a main compartment, a smaller one for a change of clothes, and another small one for a couple of tools/bandaids.

How did you first get into roller derby?

Roller derby was always something I knew my much older sister wanted to do when I was little. When I moved to the US in 2005, I became addicted to the A&E Rollergirls show, and thought it would be an awesome thing to do. Late 2008, my roommate found out about a league 90 miles away in Harrisburg that we decided to go watch (I have pictures of a merby bout february 2009). It was a blast! I made every effort to go down every month, and vowed that one day, I was going to have a Big Girl Job, with a Big Girl Paycheck, in a Big Girl Town, with a Big Girl League, and I was going to join derby!

Fastforward to august 2010. It was my 30th birthday, I’d gone down to watch an intraleague bout, and I realized I wasn’t getting any younger (and I still don’t have that Big Girl Job). So on my ride back, I facebooked that I was joining HARD! Of course, that one person that you barely know and never responds, mentioned Williamsport had just started a league the previous month. Well, that’s only 60 miles away! So with two acquaintances (that tagged along after reading my fb) in tow, I drove over to Williamsport that wednesday and joined derby.

A couple of practices later, one of the girls was horribly intimidated by the skills of a couple of girls, and decided she wanted to start “our own” league in State College. We agreed to help her, and put in duty with both leagues for the first couple of months, until the intimidated girl decided that she didn’t want to put effort into training people that are just going to skate for another league. So when she asked us to sign an exclusivity contract (to skate with a league where nobody knew anything that wasn’t on youtube), we decided to only skate with Williamsport.

Fastforward to the spring, where yet again there were too many people with too many interests, that nothing was getting done, and I got accused of “usurping” other people’s jobs. So I got sick of the bullshit and went with my initial gut decision (of a year prior) and transfered down to Harrisburg that fall.

Of course, this league isn’t perfect either. We have had a severe turnover this year, but I have hope that the people that are left want it to succeed. So I’m running for a board position this week, and hopefully by the end of the month I’ll be able to be loud and obnoxious and influential and usurping and shit all over again. Because I want this league to grow, or die trying.

Measurements

I should have done this ages ago.

Head: 22.5”
Neck: 13”
Shoulders: 44”
Upper arm: 11”?
Sleeve: 25”
Sleevespan: 60”
BOOBS! 38”
“natural waist”: 32.5”
Bellybutton: 36”
Hip bones: 34”
Widest part of ass: 38”
Thigh: 22”
Calf: 15”
Foot: 10”
Floor to knee: 20”
Belt to knee: 21”
Collar to belt: 19”
Wrist: 6.5”
Wrist to tip of middle finger: 7.5”
Palm: 4”
Around knuckles: 7.5”

Did I miss anything?

Tee shirts: 
Large/xl in a ladies shirt, small (or medium) in unisex (though I prefer the lower neckline of a babydoll).

Am I in crisis?

I'm not sure.  I have been putting a lot of thought into many of the choices I live my life by as of late.  It's been three years since I cut off my hair and started doing the dirty hippie thing, two years since I started derby, and a whole year of keto, and three months since I finally started dating a fantastic guy.  Are these choices still right for me?

Well, I'm not dropping out of derby, that's for sure.  And I'm not switching leagues again!  But I am very far from content with the current state of things, so I plan on running for an executive board position this week.  I'm going to make this league better if it kills them!  It is driving me into poverty, though.  I have an interview for a barista position at Sheetz tomorrow at 7:30 am  -_-;;

Keto?  I just did a full blood panel two weeks ago.  My cholesterol is stupidly healthy.  It is the best I have ever had in the seven years I've been testing.  I love my diet, and I love bacon, and cream, and eggs.  But I can't stop fantasizing about pancakes and Chunky Monkey.  I went to Grange Faire for my birthday and ate myself into a coma.  I enjoyed every single bite, but was in so much pain for the next two days purging the sugar from my system.  I keep going back and forth.  Do I really care what I look like or not?  Is all the bacon in the world really worth not eating 95% of the menu?  Will popcorn really kill me?  It's a thing of willpower, which I have significantly less of on some days.

Dirty Hippie.  This is something I have always classified myself as, and always will, but sometimes I wonder how much the "dirty" part matters.  I finally managed to bleach my Rogue streak again after five or so years, but decided to Manic Panic it red temporarily since I wasn't able to bleach it white all at once and didn't want it to look like piss.  I'm enjoying the red streak (though I liked it better when it was darker), but it seems to have sparked a bit of vanity in me.  I caught the nail polish bug from Cephalogal and did that for a couple of weeks, and even started wearing eye liner.  And then I freaked out Burn.

Burn is a fantastic guy, he treats me very well (unlike my previous relationship), and feels eerily perfect.  Is it wrong for me to be paranoid?  I mean, I thought the last dude was decent, and then I realized the hard way just how much of a scumbag he really is.  And to make matters worse, I didn't realize this until a couple of months after I broke up with him (though I did decide to because i realized he was less than fresh).  Is my douchegauge broken?  How was I able to put up with shit for so long?  Is there anything said broken gauge is missing in my new relationship?  I highly doubt it.  Burn is a bit distracted, but I feel he honestly means well.  So why am I having such a hard time getting past the deception when I have no reason to interact with it again?  I don't know.  It's that Lack Of Self Esteem thing again.  At least this is a decision I have no intention of changing any time soon.

But I digressed.  I've been having attacks of vanity.  Since I visited my mother in August and Had to look good, I've been considering washing my hair, using real lotions instead of coconut oil, and pretending to be an adult.  I don't know why.  The idea of using prefabricated body products terrifies the ever-loving crap out of me.  I hate how they feel on my skin and how they irritate it, but now that my hair goes down my back, I'd like to be able to pass my fingers through it.  And the only way I know how to achieve that is by using a shitload of paraffins and chemical products.  I mean, my hair is very healthy, but that kind of "silky" is always artificial.  The idea just feels so… wrong.  Like I'm cheating myself out of my values.  Would I be?  Is there any way to manage that level of chemical pleasure with natural, home made products?

Yeah.  My head hates sitting still.

Oh!  And I am currently in two swaps (which I should remember to make posts for -_-;;) and am going to a wedding in December for which I need to have two sets of baby gifts.

How to wash your pads

Ok. The basics to having unstinky gear.

This is a post I wrote a while ago when I started, full of ideas and research. Down below is what my routine has evolved into after a year and a half of trial and error.

EVERY DAY

1) Go home after practice and pull everything out of your bag.

2) Lay everything out in a place that has good air circulation. Ideally, a covered porch or in front of the dehumidifier in the basement. Others will hook things around their shower curtain rod (or hang them from their ceiling tiles) with the fan running. Make sure the sweaty sides are exposed.

Extra tips:

- Spray with something alcoholic (really cheap vodka) or an enzyme spray (Nature's Miracle, Funk Out something or other) to kill bacteria and decompose biological warfare components.

- Some people on Etsy also make satchels filled with super absorbant polymers and baking soda that you can toss in your bag for the ride home. They aren't a solution, just a small help.

- I have also seen a "pad tree" made with perforated PVC tubes on ropes that you can put your pads on and hang somewhere to help aerate them. You keep it in your gym bag and put your crap on it as you take it off, then just pull it out and hang it up when you get home.

- Gaskets can stand up nicely around old bottles so you don't have one side covered by the other.

- Nevereverevereverever spray with Febreze, perfume, or anything else with a lot of added odor or I will hunt you down and kick you in the jimmies.

EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS

1) Make sure all of your pads are turned inside out, with the velcros well attached. This includes removable helmet paddings.

2) Toss in a washing machine with 1/2 cup chlorine bleach, and run with enough cold/warm water to cover them. I don't use soap because I don't want to have to get all the soap off. Leftover bleach will just evaporate.

3) Lay out to dry like you do every night.

Tips: I don't use hot water nor the dryer because heat will help the padding decompose faster.

Some people also put everything inside a garment bag or old pillow case to keep velcros from coming undone and snagging.

ONCE A YEAR

1) buy new shit! I'm supposedly on a rotating schedule where I'll replace one piece of gear every two months so I don't get hit with sticker shock.

BIG NO-NO'S

1) Never leave your gear in your plastic gym bag! Shit will get moldy, you will get an infection, and people will hate you and your stench.

2) Never leave your gear in your car! The extreme heat will again decompose your pads, but more importantly will warp your skates.

3) I told you already, scents. Skating in a pace line behind someone with funk is bad. Skating behind someone with funk AND horribly strong perfume (which some of us are allergic to!) will lead me to violence.

ERRATA

1) "flipping your pads inside out" does not mean digging out the padding. It means leaving the side that goes against your skin as exposed as possible. Not all pads are reversible (my 187 elbows and some slip on wrists aren't), so meh. You do what you can with what you've got.

2) Shells don't need to come off. I actually have never personally seen pads with removable shells, so I don't know how detrimental this is to the integrity of the pad.

3) "Covering the velcro" doesn't mean using tape. Just make sure every strap is well matched up with its other half, so that the snaggy plastic side has as little exposure as possible

Bearings pt. 2

Ok, I know not everybody has access to industrial solvents (like I did in my first post). Luckily, all of this can be done at home with stuff purchased at a supermarket.

1) Wipe down excess dirt with a rag.

2) Take off plastic guards. Unfortunately, metal crimped bearings cannot be opened.

3) Wash!

The easiest thing to use is Dawn or any other degreasing soap. Hold the center of the bearing and spin the outer ring while submerged in a container of very soapy water, then do the same under the tap running warm water. This can also be done with Goo Gone or other orange oil based degreasers. Just make sure you remove all residue.

4) Rinse.

If water isn't cutting it, use acetone or some other solvent that will evaporate clean.

5) Dry.

While you can just leave them drip drying on a towel, it is in your best interest to dry them as fast and efficiently as possible. One option is to put said towel with bearings in a toster oven or dehydrator. Another is to hold them from the center (like when washing) and spin them by blowing with compressed air, or with a blowdryer set on cool.

6) Oil.

Ok, this isn't completely necessary. There are people that skate on "dry" bearings. This keeps crap from getting caught in them and gunking up. Most people, though, oil them. While you can get Speed Cream for about $10/oz, you can also get food grade mineral oil at the pharmacie for a couple of bucks the quart. Will you ever go through the whole quart? Most probably not, but you can probably share it with your whole team for the next five years.

7) Replace guards, wipe excess oil, and put them back in your skates.

As standard maintenance between washes, make sure to wipe down your hubs with a cloth or old tooth/paint brush after each use, and add a couple of drops of oil to each bearing every week or so.

update

Wow, it's been some time since I blogged. Life has been... well... sucked. My fellowship ended yesterday, instead of at the end of August like I had originally been told. I was notified of this almost three months ago, after which I panicked, got horribly depressed, dropped out of derby, found out our league was chosen to play at ECDX, came back after only two weeks to have been stripped of every one of my positions/ranks, and then proceeded with my regularly scheduled life.

I've finally finished many projects, including the infamous baby blanket, a toddler dress, a hat for the Henson swap, I tested a pattern for mittens (which I want to remake in a rainbow mini mooci) for the wonderful Glenna C, and I have half a sweater and a good portion of a shawl. It's been nice to craft again, it has really helped me keep some kind of sanity.

East Coast Derby Extravaganza was a phenomenal time last weekend. I drove down to Harrisburg and caught a ride to Philly with some of their team, and pretty much just hung out with them from friday until late saturday when some of the girls from my team arrived. I was ecstatic! The amount of athleticism present was unbelievable and I got to learn so much. I finally got to play sunday morning, starting at 8 am in the Black and White Scrimmage. Girls of all levels got in one of two lines (depending on their shirt) and randomly went on the floor five at a time. It was cool because you had to pay attention to all the new people you were with, and you couldn't just depend on already knowing how they play.

My new derby crush from the B&W is Veronika Getsburger from the Wilksbare Roller Radicals. She's a bit bigger than me, and yet managed to be a wonderful jammer (a position normally held by tiny girls that are very fast but have no mass). She had such a powerful stride and agility, that I want to skate like her when I grow up. Though I mainly don't want to skate like myself. My stance in these pictures was atrocious! But at least I now have something to work on.

Later that afternoon, we finally got to play a half bout, SVDV vs HARD. The first jam was 3/4, then we had five jammerless jams (3/40), but then we managed to keep up the pace and end around 36/72 in spite of Fruit Trollop getting a gash on her temple and bloodying up the whole track. Luckily it wasn't bad, but it took them a good 8 minutes to clean and disinfect everything, and we were on a strict, only 30 minute schedule. So we only played 22 minutes and managed to almost match our mentors once we finally got our stride. They've challenged us to a "second period" in a couple of weeks, and I am really excited to see how well we can play. If my team can get its act together and field a full roster -_-;;

Up next, I have the third interleague bout next weekend, the second period on the 17th, and I joined the Steampunk Swap, due at the end of august. I am very excited, and will probably start flooding (in so much as I ever "flood") with swap info. It's a very chatty group! And I'll be going to Otakon dressed as the Doctor's Wife (I need to get on that dress...) July 26, and Pennsic the second week of august. Better get crafting!

Wheel dying, pt 2

Yes, I actually went through with it. And they are gorgeous! I ended up returning the poly dye after many people saying it didn't work, and bought some regular liquid RIT in Scarlet. I placed my wheels in a 8x12" pyrex, filled it up with enough boiling water to cover them, took them out, added a good splash of dye, and put them back in. They sat for about 20 minutes, flipping after 10. I kept one wheel out for comparison, and they turned out such a gorgeous shade of dark red! I'm happy ^_^

And see? Crafty AND derby!
And they have held up quite fine for the past couple of weeks, without any marks on the sport court or anything.

Also, I have a horrible desire to BUY more skates and ALL OF THE WHEELS -_-;;

Crossovers

Totally not my picture, but gorgeous!

I hear a lot of people have trouble doing crossovers properly. The two main complaints are that they aren't achieving the proper positions, or that they have no power. Here is a wonderful video that breaks it down step by step:

http://blip.tv/file/get/BoutDerby-TechniqueWithLukeBiggerstaff292.flv
http://www.boutderby.com/forum/drills/technique-with-luke-biggerstaff

(If I was smart, I'd figure out how to embed this -_-;;)

Breaking it down, you want to make sure your stance is low, with your knees, shoulders and toes all in a vertical line. Shift your center of mass over your left skate and transfer all of your weight so that you can lift your right skate and, well, cross it over. Once your foot is down, you simultaneously push your left skate behind you as you transfer your weight to your right skate. Then, when all your weight is on your right skate and your left skate is significantly behind and to the right of your center, you lift your left skate and bring it to the front. Now you are doing the opposite, where you are pushing your right skate back while simultaneously shifting your weight to your left skate.

Yeah, I know I'm not the most eloquent person on the internet, but this should give you a basic idea. In the meantime, there are several drills you can try. You can do all of them sans skates while you build up muscle memory and confidence, and then incorporate skates as you get better.

Side stairs: Stand at the bottom of your stairwell, facing the right wall and with the stairs to your left. Take your right foot and pass it in front of you, placing it a step or two up. Use that foot to lift you up, and bring your left foot behind you to the next step (or two) up, and lift with that one. Repeat all the way up. This will help you feel the difference in push from one leg to another and will help a bit with strengthening.

Grapevines: Similar to the stairs, but on flat ground. Stand on a line, facing perpendicular to it, and pass your right foot over the left foot, making sure you are always centered over the line. Then bring your left foot behind and placing it to your side. You can continue to do this always stepping with your right foot in front, or alternating steps with your right foot in front once and then in back. When doing this with skates, try to keep your wheels straddling the line, without rolling away from it. This will help work your stability.

Drunken Sailors: Here you start on a line, facing in the same direction. Take your right foot and drop it in front of your left foot, but two feet farther to the left. Then take the left foot and drop it in front of the right foot, but two feet to the right. This is a very exaggerated motion, but again it works on throwing your weight around and switching up your balance.

As for the actual crossovers on skates, a lot of instructors will break it down into two different motions:

Skooters: Just like when you were a kid. Keep all your weight on your left foot, which is never going to be lifted off the ground, and kick back with your right foot. Make sure you glide for a bit on just your left skate so you can get used to propelling yourself with the force of your right kick. As you get more comfortable, start off the motion by placing the right foot farther in front and to your left.

The other skooter: Now try to keep all of your weight on your right skate and kick with your left skate. At first you will be pushing pretty straight, but try to push farther behind and to the right as you get more comfortable.

Crossovers (also referred to as "pushbacks"): Now that you have isolated all the parts, try to bring them together. Drag each motion out a bit at first and focus on each part. Make sure that you are pushing with both feet and shifting your weight around fluidly from one skate to the other. In the end, make sure that you are working Smart, not Hard. Make every kick count and don't skimp on the length of your strides! Oh, and don't forget to use your arms ^_^

I also just completely stole this from TinySoprano on Skatelog... but I gave a quasi-warning!

Wheel dying, pt 1.

For inspiration!

I have noticed that my posts are either very derby or very crafty, but not much in between. To remedy that, I have decided to craft up my skates ^_^ I was reading some threads over on the Skatelog Forum, and someone dyed their wheels! I think this is a wonderful thing to do, since I have pink wheels that I bought because that was the only color available, and nobody should ever have anything pink. But I might be just a bit biassed :P

So pretty much, all they did was mix up some hot RIT dye and dunked the wheels for 10 +- 5 minutes, checking frequently, until they got the color they wanted. They even went to far as to mask off designs with painters tape or rubber cement! The one thing that surprises me, though, is that they used the vegetable (for cotton) dye on urethane, instead of the poly dye which I ended up buying. I think I might need to go extra scientific with this and get one of each and dye the wheels half and half... hmmm...

STOP!

One of the biggest problems new skaters have is stopping (on purpose ^_^). In order to get WFTDA, you only need to do T-stops and plow stops, but sometimes something just isn't right. Here are some ideas that can help:

T-Stop:

Whatever you do, don't drag your foot behind you, perched only on the inner edge, with your skate bouncing! This is a good way to put too much resonating force on your ankle and break it, or to have someone in the pack behind you step on it, and break it!

So there are two ways to do a T-stop. The basic way is if these feet are skating up. You have your weight on the right foot, and you start digging your left foot into the ground. Ideally, you will dig with all four wheels equally. Technically, you are digging your outer wheels harder. While this is what they will actually be testing you on, it is also good to practice with these feet going left, so that you are standing on your left foot and digging your right foot -beside- you. Why this variation? So that you don't have your foot trailing behind you, again allowing for someone to step on it! As with everything, don't forget to work both with your right foot in front, and with your left foot in front. You never know what direction you are facing when you have to stop.

Plow Stop (or "how low can you go?):

I've been reading many people say that the slicker floor/wheel combination you have, the easier it is to plow stop. I can't really confirm nor deny this since I've only skated on slippy sport court with 88A's since I managed to do it right, but I can definitely vouch for spreading those legs! Then again, I am inhumanely flexible, so YMMV.

But you do want to make sure you are dropping your center of gravity by lowering your ass (not your shoulders!) and focusing on digging in your inner front wheels. As with T-Stops, make sure all eight wheels are flat on the floor so you don't flip your ankle. Once you can manage the plow, you can start transitioning to the

Hockey Stop:

This is a variation of the Plow, where you have managed to turn your body 90˚ in either direction and are placing the majority of your weight on your front foot. This video has a good idea as to how to transition from one to the other, by placing marks/sticks on the floor and trying to imitate them with your feet. Though, unlike ice, we need to stay a lot lower!

Tomahawk/Turn stop:

This is a very effective way to stop, especially if you want to pick up and go in the opposite direction! You start by skating forward, then you turn around 180˚ and dig in your toestops. The more advanced skaters can do this by jump turning, but a more deconstructed approach would be the "book"approach:

Skate forward. Lift the foot from the direction you want to turn and "open the book", placing it on the floor facing backwards. Then lift your front foot and "close the book", placing it next to the other foot, also facing backwards. Lift your ankles and dig in your toes. It is good to note that your feet don't need to end next to each other, and that staggering your stance (one foot farther forward than the other) can offer greater balance.

I don't really like this chicks videos because she talks really slow, but at least she has good form and information. Here she goes through T, Plow and Turn stops.

La la la, linoleum!

I skate on sport court. It is good in that it is even and has no cracks to trip on (like concrete or split wood), but it is very slippy. Yes, I am in PA. Slippy is a word. My first skates, Riedell R3, came with the Radar Caymans. 95A, viewed as a waste of plastic to most skaters I know. These were way too hard for me and I ended up getting a set of Radar Mojos, 88A, on a whim. I like them, I don't skid out, and I'm under the impression that at my now 172 lbs, I benefit from the aluminum hubs.

But I'm a compulsive shopper. I want, no, NEED new toys. I've been a good girl! Ok, but I still want new wheels. Mainly because I hate pink with a fiery passion, and that was the only color they had in stock and I really needed to get rid of the Caymans. So last night I saw some Sure Grip Blasts for sale, in red glitter :D Unfortunately, I think they are also 95A, and they looked pretty dodgy. I can't find any info on them, not even on the Sure Grip site.

I'm trying to put more research into this than I did last time. Fast Girl Skates has a wonderful compilation of articles from Blood And Thunder magazine that compiles a lot of the research I've done in one place. Though, according to this, 88A's are for beginner, shaky skaters, or should only be used as pushers, while the rest of the wheels are something harder. So I'm a fair bit better than a beginner (obviously not pro yet, though) and I don't know if I'm dragging myself down with the grippier wheels. I definitely felt like molasses the last time I skated on recently mopped concrete, but the sport court feels quite ok. Is it just that I don't know that I -could- be going faster? There are SO MANY OPTIONS!!! I'm also thinking of going the narrow (Atom Poison Slims Alloys) route so I don't trip over my own wheels. Or spinners!!!

Stinky pads

From lollergirls.blogspot.com

Very, very stinky pads. Like, hobo piss bad.

I'm lazy. I'm not going to deny it! So for the first couple of months, I just threw my bag in my trunk and forgot about it. And then it got to the point that even when I did use soap (dirty hippy, remember?) it was impossible to get the stench off my elbows. So I started dragging everything inside and laying it out in the basement in front of the dehumidifier. I even sprinkled it with my trusty baking soda, to no avail :(

So after some more handy dandy googling, I found many solutions:

Laundering them

Spraying them with 50/50 vodka and water

Aerating system I plan on eventually making

Sweat soaking satchels I also plan on making if I find out what they are filled with (baking soda and kitty litter or some other desiccant)

Get The Funk Out enzyme spray

Febreeze or perfume sprays. For the love of god, don't do this!!!

Laundry is bad. The heat and agitation will decompose the foam in your pads and mess up the elastic in the straps. Yes, it is a quick fix and sanitizing and crap, but you will just end up getting hurt and having to buy new pads very, very soon.

I know many people that claim to use vodka, but I haven't checked how effective it is. The reason it works is that when the vodka evaporates, it boils and kills the bacteria, after already having broken down its cellular wall. No bacteria, no stench. This is also a big part of what happens with the enzyme spray (it has a lot of isopropyl alcohol). I looked into getting the stuff that is specific for sports pads, but I already had a gallon of Nature's Miracle at home, due to the wonderful Herb, so why not? This stuff is wonderful! It really did make a huge difference in my elbows ^_^

Some day, I plan on buying some PVC and making the aerator system so I can just clamp everything on when I take it off, and pull it out of my bag and hang it as soon as I get home. But in the mean time, cat piss spray is awesome!

Bearings

Stolen from erikamaris.com. See? I have chemicals!

For those of you playing at home, I often pretend to be a grad student that works in a Materials Science and Engineering lab when I'm not skating. Of course, I spend all that time at work thinking about skating. After a few of hours swimming through the internet, I came to to the following conclusions:

• - It really doesn't matter what ABEC your bearings are. Unless you are a super pro speed skater, you aren't going to miraculously win every jam by spending $200 instead of $10. If anything, the more precise the bearings (higher ABEC rating [milled to more precise dimensions]) will be more liable to get stuck and damaged with the least amount of dirt. So just get the ABEC 5 or 7's and call it a day.
• 
  
• - Bearing cleaners are solvents, like acetone or orange oil (Goo Gone). Yes, you can buy specialty crap, or not. Whatever you do, make sure you dry them out very well before oiling. Some require rinsing with water, which can rust the bearings and tracks if not properly dried.
• 
  
• - Oil vs Grease. Well, most people are divided on this subject. Grease stays inside the bearing better, but will also be more viscous and cause drag. You only get a benefit from grease if you are going very fast for a long time, like an industrial machine that heats up. So just stick to mineral oils, available wherever they sell bearings for just a few bucks.

So what all did I do to ready up for the bout? Let me count the steps ^_^

1. Pull out the bearings from the wheels. I highly recommend a bearing pulling tool, seeing as how I crimped the shells on two of my bearings. If you have the ones with removable plastic sides, you can just push them out with your axle and a bit of determination (or a screw driver).
2. Wipe them down with a rag, preferably lint-less.
3. Stick them in a jar with industrial strength acetone. Swish it around until the liquid stops getting yellow/brown.
4. Pull them out, spin them while holding them in the rag, and blow out in fume hood.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with toluene.
6. Stick in vacuum oven at 140˚ for half an hour until you are sure everything is dry.
7. Lay flat on towel and add three drops of oil on each bearing. Wait a few minutes, swivel, flip, add oil, wait, swivel and done.
8. Reinsert in wheels, making sure to keep any you completely fuck up for trophies.
9. Make sure you do this with at least one practice before a bout. You have no idea how dirty your bearings are until you see the difference!

Stupid ideas I had that were corrected by experienced skaters:

• - Teflon spray will make everything awesome!
• Don't do it! It will make the bearings lock up.
• 
  
• - WD40 is cheap and available!
• Some girls love it, some say to stay away from it.
• "Aerosol lubricants such as WD-40 and '4-way' sprays do not have anti-friction properties. Squeaks are only temporarily stopped because the spray wets the surface and then quickly evaporates. These sprays are good for releasing frozen nuts and bolts, but not for lubricating."
  
• 
  
• - If I spend all the money in the world and switch out my equipment every month, I will be the bestest derby girl evar!
• Bitch, please! Just chill and check in with reality every once in a while. Pay a little bit of attention to upkeeping what you already have and you can be as good as the best. Dedication will get you so much farther than your credit card ever will.

Here are some people that I plagiarized and stuff:

www.smbbearings.com

www.skatelog.com

www.fastgirlskates.com

www.skatelogforum.com

Jingle Brawl

Ok, so this is the main reason I've been AWOL for the past four months, for those who haven't noticed. I'm the crazy chick dancing. I'm always the crazy chick dancing! This was so much fun/stress/insanity, that I am so glad it's over/can't wait for the next one/hope I never have to do this again.

Damn, it is so difficult to get back in to the swing of this blogging thing. I can't even remember what I've already talked about, though I'm guessing not much... So this might get a bit repetitive.

SCAR: Well, the league is really starting to pick up. But after a couple of months of hard work and three interventions, I'm taking a breather. I would have taken the month off, regardless, due to finals/christmas, but the drama really made it come early. I don't know if I'll go back in the new year or not. They are putting a lot of emphasis on a Do Not Compete/Exclusivity contract that I just can't get behind. It goes against everything I know derby to be. I have visited with so many teams in a four hour driving radius that are so friendly and eager to teach, that I don't see the point to forcing skaters to not practice with other leagues. It might make sense if the leagues are more established, are competing and don't want to let their supar, supar sekrit game plans out, but all of the girls that skate on leagues at that level tell me this is bullshit. So who knows.

SVDV: I can't love these girls enough! They are always so nice and accommodating. We had our first public scrimmage a week ago, made enough to cover our costs and then some, and got two huge boxes of toys to donate! I was so nervous leading up to it, but as soon as I was in that line to skate onto the floor, the world was at peace ^_^

We only had two 20 minute halves, with a 20 minute intermission where some of the girls played musical chairs, shopping cart races, and a little skit where two girls wore antlers and beat up a santa. It was such a blast, and it went by so fast! I really wish we could have waited a couple of more months, since there were so many of us that were so nervous. The date was a bit imposed on us due to availability, but it came out pretty good in the end.

Tonight is our christmas party, and then no skating until dec 30 :( I complained last night on FB and a couple of girls in Lancaster invited me down to their practices. It really sucks that they aren't having their regular sunday morning practice, since I'll be in Lancaster saturday night supporting my roommate in his family events. I'm going to try to convince people to drive down with me tuesday or wednesday. Which, beeteedubs, it sucks that I finally finished classes and can throw myself into lab work, and the lab will be closed 23-3.

One of the things I plan on doing this time off (hahahaha, plans!) is catching up here. I want to start compiling the shit I've learned about derby, mainly so I can remember how to clean my bearings next time! And, you know, all those swaps I've been in...

uuu... hi?

Not mine, but the same on Mojos ^_^

Holy shit, it's been over two months! Wow. I think bullet points might be useful here.

- My advisor/boss ran out of money, so he made me get a fellowship that requires being a student. So for the past two months, I've been taking three classes that I will put towards a teaching certificate. I hate homework, I am so far behind!

- The idea of my fellowship is awesome, but nothing really has happened all semester. I'm supposed to be paired up with a teacher in Harrisburg to help revamp their science curriculum. We're having our "speed dating" session with the teachers next wednesday.

- I swear I've been crafting! I finished a Zombie/apocalypse swap on Odd Ducks last month, and a Dia De Los Muertos this month, and I modded one over at the Buffy forum, but I'm the only lame ass that hasn't been able to send out her package because:

- I'm a derby addict. I was getting my fix on sunday, helping out in Harrisburg doing the lineup lists, and then my friend's engine exploded and I forgot my knitting in the car that got towed to Williamsport, while I live in State College.

- Saturday before that, I went to Black Eyed Susan's Skate Shop outside of Baltimore. Marzipain is beyond amazing, and she sold me the most wonderful pair of slightly-too-small Riedell 195's. My toes haven't fallen off yet!

- Why am I skating in size 7.5 skates, instead of my size 9 R3's? Because those fuckers started giving me the worst pain on my ankle, where the right boot meets the bone on the inside. Luckily, I found someone else with big feet on the team to buy them off of me :D

- A couple of weeks before that, I went to Lancaster to watch the Dutchland Rollers, crash on the wonderful Ms. K-T Period's floor, and then attend their sunday morning practice. I love skating with other girls and on other floors, because I really need to refine my technique and make sure I'm not taking things for granted (like how wheels stick when you drag them on any floor that isn't ours).

- Give or take a weekend, I went down to Philly to their pre-tryout beginner skater training extravaganza. Mind you, I'd also gone to this the previous month.

For now, I'm "studying", "doing lab work", and traveling 2-4 times a week for derby. You might say I'm a bit occupied. One of these days I'll actually post pictures of the girls skating (including me!) so you guys don't think I'm all skates, no skater. And I'll post pictures of all the swaps I've gotten, and hopefully of any that I took before sending -_-;;

Also, I'm in charge of organizing our first bout/scrimmage in a month. Anybody want to come watch/help?