I joined the roller derby. (See previous post). After months of practice and pain, and money, lots of money, I finally passed assessments and am a proud member of the Vineyard Vixens!
We traveled. First, we drove to northern Illinois for Thanksgiving. Stayed until Sunday to avoid the DC holiday traffic. (2011 was a nightmare!). I technically get Mondays off, so it wasn't too bad. Then on December 21st we flew to Denver, drove to Colorado Springs, then up the pass the Woodland Park. I'm not much of a traveler. Usually the first thing I do when I get to my in-laws is puke. Not this time. Quite proud of that actually, particularly considering the next point...
I got sick. Still am, actually. Started Wednesday before we flew to Colorado, and has been waxing and waning ever since. The last week of January I actually had to call out of work because I had a fever and so much stuff draining out of my head I couldn't talk for the coughing. Calling out sick causes problems due to my next point...
Lots of coworkers quit. 2 days before Thanksgiving one nurse went on maternity leave. She wasn't supposed to leave for another week. Apparently the doctor thought that the rash she had for the last 4 months finally needed to be treated with steroids, so they wanted to induce labor early. Huh? Another nurse had quit not long before that because she was sick of the commute. The week before I called in sick the nurse practitioner quit. She has health problems that cause her to get sick easily, and working at an office full of sick patients (and me) was not going so well. She does have a 3 year old walking, talking, germ factory (cute though) so I wish her the best of luck.
We bought a house. I've been waiting to write this post, because I didn't want to jinx anything. Just around the corner from our rental we found a 1915 Sears kit home in the historic district. Definitely a fixer-upper. Got a good price 'cause the renters were sweet, but a nightmare. Will be spending the next month cleaning, and fixing, and painting, and pulling, and ..... (you name it). The renters want our current house. I can't even begin to go in to details, I am simply looking forward to the time I no longer have to be in contact with any of these people again (renters, landlords, realtors, lawyers, etc.)
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Stealth Skates
(I was going to put pictures with this post, but don't have any on hand. And I'm too lazy to get out my camera. Eventually I will get around to it. Enjoy.)
I bought a pair of roller skates a few years back, for my birthday. An E-Bay steal at $25. New, vintage, "space-age" plastic. They were found in an old skating rink, still in the box (which disintegrated upon arrival). Bright blue with yellow stripes and wheels. They were exactly what I expected.
Years ago, back in NoCal, I had wanted to join the roller derby. The only "skating rink" was a community center in Blue Lake, on the basketball court. 40 miles seemed a bit far to drive several times a week. If only I had known then that every time I moved, the distance would get farther.
(A few weeks ago we found that Northern Virginia had a new-ish league, so we went to a bout. Booty Camp starts next month! Read all about it on K's blog, Gears & Such, pics and all.)
So, I've been reading up on skate maintenance online, because I cannot find a book. I took off the wheels, and pulled out the bearings to see what they looked like. They looked rusty. Very rusty. Rusty enough, that when I put them back in the wheel, it would no longer spin. Oops.
Well, I had been wanting softer, bigger wheels anyway, since I'm only rolling in parking lots, so I found a deal at Sin City Skates that included 8 wheels and 16 bearings. Radar Zens. They came recommended by my brother-in-law, and probably his derby-playin' girlfriend. The only disappointing aspect of this purchase, was that the shipping cost almost as much as the skates. To ease my mind, however, they did arrive the next day.
These wheels are much wider than the original ones. The nuts did not want to screw down very far. They felt tight, like they didn't want to spin very fast, but I didn't want them falling off either. I brought a socket to our skating session, just in case they needed to be loosened.
The most awesome part was not the super comfy ride on the softer wheels, but that the new bearings were completely silent. Roller skates and skate boards have a very distinctive sound. I thought it was because they have hard wheels, not inflated tires, like bicycles. I was wrong. It's the bearings.
It turned out that I did not need to loosen the wheels. They are very, very slick. Slick enough that I managed to fall on my butt while standing still. Thankfully my wrist guards had arrived too. But my poor right elbow got the brunt of it. Not too bad of a bruise, and really no road rash, but a week later it still hurt a bit when I bent and straightened it. Next purchase, elbow pads and better toe stops. I've been leaving my stops all over the parking lots. They are not going to last long. They leave a thick, yellow, chalk-like smudge. Maybe I should try writing something?
Update: Replaced the toe stops. Apparently new skates are 'standard sized' and mine are not. I could only find one pair of stops that had a removable bolt, and then I could only find wholesalers. Haven't tried them out yet. They are quite a bit larger than the old ones, and I needed to find new bolts. The guy at Home Despot tried to sell me a hex bolt, "the only one that will work", but upon further inspection, I found one that needs an allen wrench instead (something I can fit in the hole). If these $4 bolts work, it may help put off buying a several-hundred-dollar pair of skates a bit longer. Though now I am certain the upgrades to my skates cost more than the original skates.
I bought a pair of roller skates a few years back, for my birthday. An E-Bay steal at $25. New, vintage, "space-age" plastic. They were found in an old skating rink, still in the box (which disintegrated upon arrival). Bright blue with yellow stripes and wheels. They were exactly what I expected.
Years ago, back in NoCal, I had wanted to join the roller derby. The only "skating rink" was a community center in Blue Lake, on the basketball court. 40 miles seemed a bit far to drive several times a week. If only I had known then that every time I moved, the distance would get farther.
(A few weeks ago we found that Northern Virginia had a new-ish league, so we went to a bout. Booty Camp starts next month! Read all about it on K's blog, Gears & Such, pics and all.)
So, I've been reading up on skate maintenance online, because I cannot find a book. I took off the wheels, and pulled out the bearings to see what they looked like. They looked rusty. Very rusty. Rusty enough, that when I put them back in the wheel, it would no longer spin. Oops.
Well, I had been wanting softer, bigger wheels anyway, since I'm only rolling in parking lots, so I found a deal at Sin City Skates that included 8 wheels and 16 bearings. Radar Zens. They came recommended by my brother-in-law, and probably his derby-playin' girlfriend. The only disappointing aspect of this purchase, was that the shipping cost almost as much as the skates. To ease my mind, however, they did arrive the next day.
These wheels are much wider than the original ones. The nuts did not want to screw down very far. They felt tight, like they didn't want to spin very fast, but I didn't want them falling off either. I brought a socket to our skating session, just in case they needed to be loosened.
The most awesome part was not the super comfy ride on the softer wheels, but that the new bearings were completely silent. Roller skates and skate boards have a very distinctive sound. I thought it was because they have hard wheels, not inflated tires, like bicycles. I was wrong. It's the bearings.
It turned out that I did not need to loosen the wheels. They are very, very slick. Slick enough that I managed to fall on my butt while standing still. Thankfully my wrist guards had arrived too. But my poor right elbow got the brunt of it. Not too bad of a bruise, and really no road rash, but a week later it still hurt a bit when I bent and straightened it. Next purchase, elbow pads and better toe stops. I've been leaving my stops all over the parking lots. They are not going to last long. They leave a thick, yellow, chalk-like smudge. Maybe I should try writing something?
Update: Replaced the toe stops. Apparently new skates are 'standard sized' and mine are not. I could only find one pair of stops that had a removable bolt, and then I could only find wholesalers. Haven't tried them out yet. They are quite a bit larger than the old ones, and I needed to find new bolts. The guy at Home Despot tried to sell me a hex bolt, "the only one that will work", but upon further inspection, I found one that needs an allen wrench instead (something I can fit in the hole). If these $4 bolts work, it may help put off buying a several-hundred-dollar pair of skates a bit longer. Though now I am certain the upgrades to my skates cost more than the original skates.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
That's my dog!
The other day, as I was getting ready for work, the dog came in with his chicken, placed it smack in the middle of his bed, and stepped back to whine at it. The same kind of whiny dance he does when a bug he has spit out continues to move. It was as if the chicken was hogging the bed, and wouldn't share.
I told the dog if it bothered him so much, he should move it. Particularly as he was the one to put it there. He continued to whine, prance, and look between me and the chicken. Eventually I picked it up, looked at it (maybe it had some weird goo on it), held it for the dog to sniff, then placed it back on the bed, exactly where I found it.
Bayram looked at me, with his head cocked, picked up the chicken, and walked out of the room. I saw him walk to the living room and place the chicken on the floor. He nudged it with his nose, batted it under the sewing table, and came back in and laid down on the bed.
What is my dog thinking?
I told the dog if it bothered him so much, he should move it. Particularly as he was the one to put it there. He continued to whine, prance, and look between me and the chicken. Eventually I picked it up, looked at it (maybe it had some weird goo on it), held it for the dog to sniff, then placed it back on the bed, exactly where I found it.
Bayram looked at me, with his head cocked, picked up the chicken, and walked out of the room. I saw him walk to the living room and place the chicken on the floor. He nudged it with his nose, batted it under the sewing table, and came back in and laid down on the bed.
What is my dog thinking?
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| So threatening... |
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