As freshies in the world of roller derby it is fabulous to have a CRDL presence at Rollercon. What I am pleased as punch to say is that I don't think we need to feel too fresh as a league...we are pretty stinky actually. There are some amazing skaters and teams here at Rollercon - and I mean amazing - but today made me think, 'hang on, our fingers are on a strong throbbing derby pulse'. There were 2 sessions I wanted in on today, Know your skill level with Ivana S. Pankin and Drop a Bitch with Razorslut. Basically with sessions you don't sign up, you have to line up to get into the session and you get turned down if they reach the limit for the class - different trainers decide what their max capacity is. So I got into Ivana's class no worries but was one of about 50 turned down for Razorslut. I'm hoping this doesn't continue BUT when you sell, I dunno, um 1500 tickets but can only accommodate 150 skaters in 2 concurrent sessions of 75 then you might have a little problemo on your hands.
Today's highlight for me was session 1 of the 'unofficial'...'not covered by insurance' Skatepark Tour, led by a rollerskating vert legend Jay, it was rad. There are a heap of challenge bout and evening partying but my heart is already owned by the Skatepark tour. Jay, rad skater dude, and his plans of Vegas skatepark domination has/is exceeding all of my expectations.
Dr Hell is volunteering her but off as a bout medic, she is a goodun, she's doing it as well as sessions - 20 hours I think is her roster...WOW. I think she will be the most exhausted by Sunday.
Did I tell ya'll it's 40 degrees everyday??
xx
Bam
Friday, July 30, 2010
Joshua Trees
Ok, I need to catch you all up.
Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzkvWWMacyY
The arid landscape where California meets Nevada is punctuated with Joshua Trees, the flats end with enormous mountains which in winter are covered in snow...impressive. So much here is big and I know I am going getting the slightest taste but the majesty of the Californian mountains beginning at Pasadena, WOW.
The trip from LA was so smooth, guided by Ova and steered by yours truly (ok, Hell was also backing up with some google maps) but we glided from freeway to freeway to find ourselves amidst the Joshua Trees. Interestingly we discovered our hire van had 14 cup holders, considering it was a 6 seater we felt it was a little excessive but you just never know how many big gulps your gonna need on the road. It was these things we considered as we hit Las Vegas...(listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-qN6TCY85c) Dang guys it is hot out here...I'm talkin about 40 degrees at noon. So hot, so dry, reminds me of Christmas time in Mildura.
The phenomenon of Vegas appeared like you all have told me it would, a city jutting unnaturally out of the desert. Exploring 'The Strip' like any good tourist we marveled at the lights, beauty and attraction that is the thin veneer for the grog, gambling and porn. Tonight (Tuesday) Ova and Sugar are at the MGM Grand (la di dah!), Dr Hell and newly joined to the crew King Cam are at Hooters (yes Hooters) and Mel and I are at an old dame of a casino, Tropicana. We still haven't sighted Fair-as and his bro who are also apparently at the Trop...they lurk here somewhere. As we lay our tired heads down to sleep we'll be dreaming of the track, I think now, we are ready to roll at Rollercon.
xx
Bam
Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzkvWWMacyY
The arid landscape where California meets Nevada is punctuated with Joshua Trees, the flats end with enormous mountains which in winter are covered in snow...impressive. So much here is big and I know I am going getting the slightest taste but the majesty of the Californian mountains beginning at Pasadena, WOW.
The trip from LA was so smooth, guided by Ova and steered by yours truly (ok, Hell was also backing up with some google maps) but we glided from freeway to freeway to find ourselves amidst the Joshua Trees. Interestingly we discovered our hire van had 14 cup holders, considering it was a 6 seater we felt it was a little excessive but you just never know how many big gulps your gonna need on the road. It was these things we considered as we hit Las Vegas...(listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-qN6TCY85c) Dang guys it is hot out here...I'm talkin about 40 degrees at noon. So hot, so dry, reminds me of Christmas time in Mildura.
The phenomenon of Vegas appeared like you all have told me it would, a city jutting unnaturally out of the desert. Exploring 'The Strip' like any good tourist we marveled at the lights, beauty and attraction that is the thin veneer for the grog, gambling and porn. Tonight (Tuesday) Ova and Sugar are at the MGM Grand (la di dah!), Dr Hell and newly joined to the crew King Cam are at Hooters (yes Hooters) and Mel and I are at an old dame of a casino, Tropicana. We still haven't sighted Fair-as and his bro who are also apparently at the Trop...they lurk here somewhere. As we lay our tired heads down to sleep we'll be dreaming of the track, I think now, we are ready to roll at Rollercon.
xx
Bam
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The trappings of fame...
It’s Monday night and tomorrow we drive to Vegas for Rollercon. Ova has lost her sunglasses and we have all just finished repacking our obscenely oversized bags ready for the journey and are wondering if Ova’s sunnies are in someone’s bag somewhere...
I think we are all ready to move on, LA has been great and we have crammed an insane amount of activity into the past three days.
As I blogged last night I received an SMS from Fair-as asking us what we were up to…we had planned a trip to MEDIEVAL TIMES which would have been potentially one of the best experiences of my life but my dreams were crushed by the 2 hours travel we were going to have to do either way. ANYWAY, after I SMSed Fair-as that we were in our room there was in instant knock on the door. Giddy as a schoolgirl there was Fair-as and his brother wanting us to go outside and ‘take a look at what we bought today’. Now FA and his bro are keen on a driving holiday here and rather than hire some air-conditioned SUV like us ladies they decided to buy something cheap and then drive it to Texas and back. Well, they haven’t let anyone down with what they found. Check this out but imagine in brown with some mean 70s yellow and red stripes down the sides…oh yeah and it is a little more dinged up then the picture below: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://gwtec.de/images/1972dodgevan091704.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gwtec.de/index.php%3FcPath%3D1530&usg=__fsLMUm4lPCvTxM4_7zwsoZ4z1qM=&h=356&w=550&sz=70&hl=en&start=15&tbnid=XeEJveITnqEp7M:&tbnh=134&tbnw=207&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddodge%2Bvan%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D680%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C600&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=962&vpy=410&dur=149&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=122&ty=158&ei=0WZOTLyEBpCosQPL6oTjDw&page=2&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:15&biw=1280&bih=680
It’s a 7 seater and the interior is red velour with a glamorous tiki style centre console. It is rad.
While FA and his bro had searched for a car all day we ladies walked, shopped, walked and shopped on Hollywood Boulevard. There were many sights which provoked an array of emotions – stars on the pavement, the Chinese theatre and a beautiful vista of the HOLLYWOOD sign as well as a little lass we dubbed ‘the fake tan 4 year old’...hrm…
We have eaten like kings since arrival sampling SO much good food and yesterday we found ourselves on Hollywood boulevard in a subtle small ‘buy a slice’ pizza joint. The experience almost defies description, to put it simply – home made pasta sauce and sausage with the obligatory dudes playing chess in the booth across from us.
Today Melicous organized a Hollywood tour – star’s houses, Madame Toussards, the lot. We saw Bel Air, Beverly Hills, the tops of some trees and an American flag that belongs to Tom Cruise…weird. Fame is a funny thing, the guide told us where we could go to and potentially see celebrities. It seems there are so many people here struggling to be famous, you overhear conversations: ‘where you from?...Melbourne? ah you came here for acting’ Desire for more seems to ooze from the pavement. For those at the top of the fame food-chain it works in reverse, they fight this battle for privacy and are annoyed at the media…but why would you live in Beverly Hills or Bel Air? Oh, I know, because you only stay in your $10 million mansion when you are working in LA and you need to be close to work right?...right? Showbiz…hrm…like anything it is with too much ease we can stand outside and judge, but I wonder what would life be like with all of the money in the world but not the freedom to go for a jog (pft...jogging is over-rated, bad example) or walk to the local IGA and grab some milk.
There is no doubt in my mind that LA has plenty of normal stuff too…one day I hope to visit again and see this. For now we are full up with LA star, street and beach experience…now to Vegas and beyond!
Xx
Bam
PS I'll post some photos soon...
I think we are all ready to move on, LA has been great and we have crammed an insane amount of activity into the past three days.
As I blogged last night I received an SMS from Fair-as asking us what we were up to…we had planned a trip to MEDIEVAL TIMES which would have been potentially one of the best experiences of my life but my dreams were crushed by the 2 hours travel we were going to have to do either way. ANYWAY, after I SMSed Fair-as that we were in our room there was in instant knock on the door. Giddy as a schoolgirl there was Fair-as and his brother wanting us to go outside and ‘take a look at what we bought today’. Now FA and his bro are keen on a driving holiday here and rather than hire some air-conditioned SUV like us ladies they decided to buy something cheap and then drive it to Texas and back. Well, they haven’t let anyone down with what they found. Check this out but imagine in brown with some mean 70s yellow and red stripes down the sides…oh yeah and it is a little more dinged up then the picture below: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://gwtec.de/images/1972dodgevan091704.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gwtec.de/index.php%3FcPath%3D1530&usg=__fsLMUm4lPCvTxM4_7zwsoZ4z1qM=&h=356&w=550&sz=70&hl=en&start=15&tbnid=XeEJveITnqEp7M:&tbnh=134&tbnw=207&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddodge%2Bvan%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D680%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C600&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=962&vpy=410&dur=149&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=122&ty=158&ei=0WZOTLyEBpCosQPL6oTjDw&page=2&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:15&biw=1280&bih=680
It’s a 7 seater and the interior is red velour with a glamorous tiki style centre console. It is rad.
While FA and his bro had searched for a car all day we ladies walked, shopped, walked and shopped on Hollywood Boulevard. There were many sights which provoked an array of emotions – stars on the pavement, the Chinese theatre and a beautiful vista of the HOLLYWOOD sign as well as a little lass we dubbed ‘the fake tan 4 year old’...hrm…
We have eaten like kings since arrival sampling SO much good food and yesterday we found ourselves on Hollywood boulevard in a subtle small ‘buy a slice’ pizza joint. The experience almost defies description, to put it simply – home made pasta sauce and sausage with the obligatory dudes playing chess in the booth across from us.
Today Melicous organized a Hollywood tour – star’s houses, Madame Toussards, the lot. We saw Bel Air, Beverly Hills, the tops of some trees and an American flag that belongs to Tom Cruise…weird. Fame is a funny thing, the guide told us where we could go to and potentially see celebrities. It seems there are so many people here struggling to be famous, you overhear conversations: ‘where you from?...Melbourne? ah you came here for acting’ Desire for more seems to ooze from the pavement. For those at the top of the fame food-chain it works in reverse, they fight this battle for privacy and are annoyed at the media…but why would you live in Beverly Hills or Bel Air? Oh, I know, because you only stay in your $10 million mansion when you are working in LA and you need to be close to work right?...right? Showbiz…hrm…like anything it is with too much ease we can stand outside and judge, but I wonder what would life be like with all of the money in the world but not the freedom to go for a jog (pft...jogging is over-rated, bad example) or walk to the local IGA and grab some milk.
There is no doubt in my mind that LA has plenty of normal stuff too…one day I hope to visit again and see this. For now we are full up with LA star, street and beach experience…now to Vegas and beyond!
Xx
Bam
PS I'll post some photos soon...
Monday, July 26, 2010
Late 90s world...
Listen to: (maybe fast forward the intro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVr-MyRblA4
How much can a group of lassies from the Bra possibly experience in 48 hours since I last posted…so much…so much…
First though I have to say Ova Bearing is an asset to any travel team, what a map reading dynamo and on top of that all I have to do is point out a boosted up car with a hot paint job and she pisses herself laughing, she is awesome.
SO Saturday we all woke as if we weren’t jet lagged at all. Ready to embrace a sweet sweet Californian day, Venice Beach was first on the agenda. Bearing skates we embarked on an hour of LA bussing to reach the famous coastline. It was all I had imagined and so much more. What Venice presented (and indeed the rest of LA since) is that we are indeed trapped in the late 90s. Everywhere we go we are surrounded by late 90s dance music (at restaurants strangely) and many mid-life crisis masculine stereotypes in late 80s sports cars…top down – yesterday there was one with that Magic song from Ghostbusters cranking, HA!
ANYWAY Venice Beach, we skated the boardwalk, it was sweet, sand covered cement is actually quite difficult to skate but we managed and got sunburnt doing it. There were indeed rollerbladers in bikinis, a sight that would make Ova whisper breathlessly ‘awesome’. Sugar watched us skate from a grassy knoll where we left her with as much soda and pizza slices she could handle…I am forever amazed at her pregnant ability to sniff out and identify any kind of food at 100 yards – silently disappear then reappear loaded with goodies, she is also a good sharer, which is awesome - her mummy taught her well.
As I said, so many stereotypes can be observed but here there are no pretenders, we see the bonifide originators of these stereotypes. The blonde sufer dude who will work for weed, good lookin blinged up black men in pimped cars – windows down, hip hop turned up. I suspect there is nothing like it.
We lost Dr Hell at the Venice Beach freakshow. As the 2nd hour of no Hell approached we began to wonder how we would explain to her mother that the last time we saw her was having a real life python placed around her neck by a tattooed lady in a bikini…. Upon finding her she had many photos of two headed turtles and a 5 legged dog...o...k....
We wondered how to while away a Saturday night in LA and decided Mexican fare was the go. The Lonely planet directed us to the MOST AMAZING Mexican joint just off Santa Monica Boulevard, the pitcher of Magarita went down a treat as we were bathed in yet more 90s dance music - given the ratio of 90% well groomed males to 10% ladies it became apparent we were at a pre-party meeting place for the fellas who like fellas. Safe to say it was rad and we had a rad time. As luck would have it some old friends of Melicious and me live in San Diego and came to say hi. After dinner all 7 of us jumped in their van and decided to get some take aways and go to the Hollywood sign…what a plan!! We were thwarted by a large metal gate and 24 hour video surveillance…it was a fully sick drive nonetheless and we felt like a locals in a van with tinted windows, Ice Cube amped up singing like we had some kinda talent.
What a Saturday.
Xx
Bam
Wait till I tell you what Fair-as got up to today…
How much can a group of lassies from the Bra possibly experience in 48 hours since I last posted…so much…so much…
First though I have to say Ova Bearing is an asset to any travel team, what a map reading dynamo and on top of that all I have to do is point out a boosted up car with a hot paint job and she pisses herself laughing, she is awesome.
SO Saturday we all woke as if we weren’t jet lagged at all. Ready to embrace a sweet sweet Californian day, Venice Beach was first on the agenda. Bearing skates we embarked on an hour of LA bussing to reach the famous coastline. It was all I had imagined and so much more. What Venice presented (and indeed the rest of LA since) is that we are indeed trapped in the late 90s. Everywhere we go we are surrounded by late 90s dance music (at restaurants strangely) and many mid-life crisis masculine stereotypes in late 80s sports cars…top down – yesterday there was one with that Magic song from Ghostbusters cranking, HA!
ANYWAY Venice Beach, we skated the boardwalk, it was sweet, sand covered cement is actually quite difficult to skate but we managed and got sunburnt doing it. There were indeed rollerbladers in bikinis, a sight that would make Ova whisper breathlessly ‘awesome’. Sugar watched us skate from a grassy knoll where we left her with as much soda and pizza slices she could handle…I am forever amazed at her pregnant ability to sniff out and identify any kind of food at 100 yards – silently disappear then reappear loaded with goodies, she is also a good sharer, which is awesome - her mummy taught her well.
As I said, so many stereotypes can be observed but here there are no pretenders, we see the bonifide originators of these stereotypes. The blonde sufer dude who will work for weed, good lookin blinged up black men in pimped cars – windows down, hip hop turned up. I suspect there is nothing like it.
We lost Dr Hell at the Venice Beach freakshow. As the 2nd hour of no Hell approached we began to wonder how we would explain to her mother that the last time we saw her was having a real life python placed around her neck by a tattooed lady in a bikini…. Upon finding her she had many photos of two headed turtles and a 5 legged dog...o...k....
We wondered how to while away a Saturday night in LA and decided Mexican fare was the go. The Lonely planet directed us to the MOST AMAZING Mexican joint just off Santa Monica Boulevard, the pitcher of Magarita went down a treat as we were bathed in yet more 90s dance music - given the ratio of 90% well groomed males to 10% ladies it became apparent we were at a pre-party meeting place for the fellas who like fellas. Safe to say it was rad and we had a rad time. As luck would have it some old friends of Melicious and me live in San Diego and came to say hi. After dinner all 7 of us jumped in their van and decided to get some take aways and go to the Hollywood sign…what a plan!! We were thwarted by a large metal gate and 24 hour video surveillance…it was a fully sick drive nonetheless and we felt like a locals in a van with tinted windows, Ice Cube amped up singing like we had some kinda talent.
What a Saturday.
Xx
Bam
Wait till I tell you what Fair-as got up to today…
Saturday, July 24, 2010
This is LA
Ah LA, city of angels…Bangkok also translates as city of angels, interesting considering what these places are a times famous for. In the jet lagged semi-conscious haze of the last few hours post arrival Sugar, Hell, Ova, Melicious and I have paced the pavements of West Hollywood observing the tall, thin tanned angels of LA doing all of the things MTV has taught me they would. Short shorts, cell phones and small dogs are indeed a currency…which makes me wonder, what if Hell had brought Inky…
There will be talk of skating soon…I promise…
xx
Bam
There will be talk of skating soon…I promise…
xx
Bam
Thursday, July 22, 2010
American woman
Listen to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTB4kg4YFMs&feature=related
On the eve of any journey one ponders the important questions:
- is 5 pairs of shoes too many for three weeks?
- how many kgs will this friken bag weigh?
- plastic crochet hooks, crafty treat or deadly weapon?
- Alain de Boton for the plane or the classic of Dorian Grey...
All these things venture in and out of the conscious mind as my Dad tells me about why it is important to keep my seatbelt fastened whenever seated...'people get hurt you know? I saw it on the news today, a flight from LA, storms, turbulance'.
Little does he know I am manic on flights and that conversation just made me a little more anxious...
xx
Bam
On the eve of any journey one ponders the important questions:
- is 5 pairs of shoes too many for three weeks?
- how many kgs will this friken bag weigh?
- plastic crochet hooks, crafty treat or deadly weapon?
- Alain de Boton for the plane or the classic of Dorian Grey...
All these things venture in and out of the conscious mind as my Dad tells me about why it is important to keep my seatbelt fastened whenever seated...'people get hurt you know? I saw it on the news today, a flight from LA, storms, turbulance'.
Little does he know I am manic on flights and that conversation just made me a little more anxious...
xx
Bam
Friday, July 16, 2010
Pre-trip hurdles...
Well, it is almost here and I can't believe it. Just one hurdle...playing national champs VRDL on the weekend, fricken EEP!!
Let's show em how we roll CRDL!
Oh...and finishing the PhD thesis...that shouldn't take a minute...
xx
Bam
Let's show em how we roll CRDL!
Oh...and finishing the PhD thesis...that shouldn't take a minute...
xx
Bam
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