Herga derga doo

So this past Thursday was my second time scrimmaging on my new skates.   After a few times of attempting to put them on while wearing socks, only to have the socks bunch up and stretch and make me *very aware* of how I wasn't able to move my toes (and how much of an awkward placement my toes ended up being in every time), I said "screw it" and wore them without socks.

It went much better than I thought it would - a little bit of rubbing against my ankle, but not enough to form a blister. I might get those ankle sleeve thingies.

Beyond that, I had trouble doing quick acceleration (though that may be because of the floor, or my general attitude that day, or myriad other reasons).  I made an extra effort to turn with my trucks and not my ankles, which actually worked.  All I can do is keep on keepin' on and things will get better and better.

Now that I've completed my rules test and skating assessment, I can start collecting evaluations like a mofo.  Whee?  As I have said many times before, I have no ability to determine what other people may or may not say about me.  As I am me, and am a negative, negative person by default, I figure everyone else is the same way, and my evaluations will just be nothing but "meh" all the way through.  Oh the joy of being me.

WFTDA skating assessment

...went something like this:

TEST GIVER: Okay, now we're gonna do unexpected light hits.  Look in towards the center.
ME: I lost a wheel.
TEST GIVER: Heh, heh, that's good. (Hits me.)
ME: No, seriously.  I LOST A WHEEL.
(does not fall over; go me)

Yeah, I think the nuts holding my wheels on are pretty much shot.  Fortunately that's my old skates; my new ones have brand new shiny nylony lock nut wonderfulness.

So, yeah, I did the skating assessment for WFTDA certification last night.  My lap time wasn't as good as the last time I did it - 1:43 - but (a) the track was crazy slick and I did not want to fall and (b) I'd just jam reffed a scrimmage.

In other news....

Before my right rotator cuff kind of said HEY I WANT ATTENTION I'M GOING TO REQUIRE SURGERY, I was always convinced that my left knee would be the thing that ended my derby career.  My doctor determined I was developing arthritis in 2010; in January 2012 I sprained my MCL; in October 2013 I sprained my ACL.

It started bothering me again over the weekend - but only when I was walking.  I could skate fine, but I'd have to limp all over the place otherwise.  I am going to treat it with a healthy dose of denial.

Still on a tournament high

 So beyond the learning of derby stuff, I learned a few other important things:

1. Bring at least a pillow and blanket.  Ideally bring a tent and inflatable mattress.
2. Earplugs.  Even if you don't use them while officiating.  Presume that the venue will be crazy loud and this will help with #1. (Worst part was that I had earplugs but I'd left them at the hotel.)
3. I was officiating two games a day, so I hung two bags off my gear bag, each of which held a full officiating uniform (including underwear and socks). Finish one game, change back into civilian clothes (since there was about 4.5 hours between my games), put the sweaty icky uniform in one bag.  When it came time to change for the second game, I just grabbed the other bag and got changed.  Everything got washed at the end of the day and reloaded into their proper bags. (I used plastic shopping bags this time; next time I will probably try mesh bags).
4. Next time I go to IKEA I need to get one of these. One referee had one and I was absolutely drooling over it.
5. Baby wipes are good not only for cleaning wheels, but for cleaning off sweat and funk after officiating.
6. Bring blank paper.  I had to leave notes for people and was reduced to using paper plates.
7. Take a picture of the brackets when the tournament is over. It helped me remember which teams played which games and made updating my officiating resume that much easier.
8. Bring as much food as you can - meals add up.
1. Poutine is the exception.  Always buy poutine if it's available.

Battle of the All-Stars Weekend

So much fun, so much derby.  Met so many cool people, learned so many new things, saw so many old friends....I am quite content right now. :)

tournament weekend

leaving after work.  I need to finish packing.  I start out very organized - write a list of what I'll need to bring, roll everything carefully - and then it just devolves into OK I'M GOING TO THROW EVERY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR AND SOCKS I HAVE INTO THIS PLASTIC IKEA BAG AND OH, MAYBE A PAIR OF JEANS AND A T-SHIRT TOO.

Last night was my first night on the new skates in a scrimmage scenario.  They'll take some getting used to.  I had to put some moleskin on the inside of my right ankle, because when I'd make a tight left turn (jam reffing, yo) I'd push against the side of my skate and it'd get a bit owwy.  I'm going to bring them with me to the tournament, but I am bringing my old skates too, and will probably skate more on the latter than the former.  Mostly because I need my confidence to be at 100% when I'm jam reffing AND THE OTHER JAM REF IS A LEVEL 5 REFEREE.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, no pressure there. None at all.

Chaya Skates Review, Part Two

Previously, on Chaya Skates Review: I used a lot of shouty words.
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Yesterday afternoon I went to Wegmans to get a shoehorn for my skates.  In the last few years I've realized just how spoiled I am by having a Wegmans within walking distance of my house. I went to visit my sister in Connecticut once, and we were going to get snacks, and she said "Okay, we have to go to [further out supermarket] because [close supermarket] closed at 10pm" and I was like WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?  SUPERMARKETS CLOSE? and then I see Facebook friends get excited that a Wegmans is opening in their area, and I'm just like HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE WITHOUT A WEGMANS THEY CAN SEE JUST BY EXITING THEIR HOUSE AND SQUINTING A LITTLE.

Wegmans didn't have shoehorns.  I had to go to Rite Aid.

So I arrived at the practice space and excitedly put my skates on.  It was tricky, because they are so snug.  The heel of my sock got bunched up, which stretched out the sock by my toes, so they had to strain against the material and it was uncomfortable. (I am not the kind of person who can skate without socks.  That way, indeed, lies madness.)  Eventually I had to completely unlace them so I could get my foot in comfortably.

Then...I skated.

And immediately sat down and had to tinker with the trucks, as they were hella hella HELLA loose.

Like I said in the previous entry, everything is sort of crammed up in each other's space on the skates.  Here's a picture:

Close quarters, indeed

To tighten the trucks, I had to hold the crescent wrench perpendicular to the nut and hope I got a good grip on it. (One thing that *was* nice is that the nut has a number on each corner, so it's easy to keep track of how far you've turned it.)  Eventually I had to take the skate off to get a good angle on the wrench.

So much tinkering and tightening and loosening and whatnot later, I started skating for real.

And realized I'm going to have to entirely change the way I skate.

I've said many, many times that I most likely skate on the tightest trucks in all of WFTDA.  I crank those suckers DOWN and do all my turning and whatnot with my ankles.  Unfortunately, this does not mean I have Ankles of Steel - I have racehorse ankles, easily strained with a weird step or a drunken cartwheel (not that I have any prior history of drunken cartwheels ~whistling innocently~). 

The Chaya boots put big ol' clamps down on my ankles.  They are Gandalf the Grey shouting YOU SHALL NOT PASS to my ankles, if by PASS you mean MOVE.  This will take some getting used to.

Still trying to figure out the toe stops.  They're smaller than my Bionics, and about 150% of my stopping as a referee is a tomahawk stop (in cease different people use different terms, that's when you do a quick 180° and go up on your toestops) (the other 23% of my stops are T-stops). I could see easily and quickly wearing these down.  I also have to work on the angle, as if they're too steep, my toes still slide down (gravity apparently beats Gandalf the Ankle Clencher) and they actively hurt, because I am not a ballerina, even though I took an introduction to ballet class in college).

As practice progressed, I started to notice that the left boot was pushing into my heel quite annoyingly.  I'm not sure if this will be fixed as part of the Relearning to Skate process, or if I need to remold them.  I was also concerned that I might be developing blisters behind my ankle bone - again, not sure if this is part of Relearning to Skate.

But, other than those concerns, I really enjoy these skates.  They drew many "oohs" and "aahs" and "they look like Pumas" from leaguemates.  They were quite comfortable beyond the ankle business, and it'll be interesting to see how they adapt to my feet in the future (I remember when I got my last pair of skates, they were blissfully comfortable for the first practice or two, then turned into WE'RE GOING TO SWING A SLEDGEHAMMER INTO YOUR TOES for a good number of practices after that.)

So short story very long, I really really like the skates and am glad I got them!

Chaya Skates Review, Part 1

Warning: I abuse the Caps Lock key a lot.

My knowledge of roller skate technology sort of began and ended in 2012, when I last bought skates (Riedell 495 boots, Avenger DA magnesium plates).  I'd see fellow skaters with Antiks and Bonts and be all LA LA LA I DON'T NEED NEW SKATES RIGHT NOW SO I'LL JUST WATCH THAT ONE EPISODE OF HOW IT'S MADE OVER AND OVER AND PRETEND THEY'RE MAKING MY SKATES.

In the last few months, though, they were just getting too stretched out.  When I jam ref, I start on my toe stops and walk along during the scrum until everything breaks out and then I actually start skating.  My toes were starting to hurt because they were sliding to the front of the skate.  So, I figured I should bite the bullet and procure new skates.

I went to Ilana, proprietoress of Turnaround Skates, and threw myself at her mercy.  She had two recommendations - Antik MG-2 and Chaya, a new skate that she hadn't been able to get anyone else to try out but that she could get a special offer on.

I love shiny new toys and I am all about special offers, so I was like YES LET ME TRY THE CHAYA THEY SOUND SWEEEEEEEEET.

I was so excited for them - they looked soooo cool.  I'd tell people I was getting new skates and be all LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE (bring up the website) AREN'T THOSE AMAZING LOOKING ZOMG.

So this past Saturday I went out to her house to pick them up.

I scrunched and shoved and THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THIS TIGHT, RIGHT? I HAVEN'T MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE? my feet into them.  I tried not to have my feet get claustrophobic but when they're CLAMPED DOWN AND JUST CAN'T MOVE it's kinda difficult.

But then....then.  The heat molding.

I'd heard of heat molding but never seen it done before. I thought they just took the insole and popped it in the oven but no, the whole skate gets thrown (figuratively thrown) into the oven.  It's kinda cool.

Once the skates were heated up, they were MUCH easier to get on.  Put the wheels on quick and then I just wore them until they cooled to the CONTOURS OF MY FEET ROLLER SKATE TECHNOLOGY IS WOW.  My feet still do not move, but it's a THEY DON'T MOVE BECAUSE THEY ARE IN A SNUG LOVING EMBRACE and not because THEY ARE BEING RESTRAINED IN A CLOCKWORK ORANGE-TYPE SITUATION.  My ankles were also like OH HEY I'M GETTING HELD ONTO WHAT IS THIS MADNESS. The Riedell 495s have ankle locks (you thread your laces through a strap that's supposed to hold your ankle) but I could never get them to do anything.

And it's not, like, once you do it they're permanently that way until you die!  If part of the skate is rubbing on my foot weirdly, I can REHEAT IT AND SHOVE SOMETHING IN THAT SPOT SO IT STICKS OUT AND DOESN'T RUB.  ZOMFG.  TECHNOLOGY!

 Anyway, my first impressions, beyond the OMG THE PRETTY:

The plates (Ophira 45°) are interesting - they don't mount like regular plates, with bolts and drilled holes and whatnot.  They clip onto the skates.  Apparently you can use the plates on other boots (there are mounting holes) and you can use the boots with other plates (you can remove the clips).  I wonder if having the mounts in a single line down the middle of the boot will affect the feel - if the edges of the plate will wobble.

Everything is kind of packed into a small place - the front kingpin is really close to the front wheels which are really close to the toe stop.  Unless I use a crescent wrench, I don't think I can adjust the trucks without removing the wheels.  The toe stops that come with the skates (Cherry Bomb toe stops) have small divots cut out around the edges to accommodate the wheel.  I don't know that my current toestops (Bionic Super Stoppers) will fit.

I'm not sure if my toe guards will work with them; I didn't try.  I hate to break up the aesthetics of the boot (because, well, LOOK AT THOSE BOOTS THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL).

So tonight will be my first time actually using them - I will update then!

OMG SO BEAUTIFUL

eh

Not my best night refereeing, but, well, that's how you learn.

It looks like it's a good thing I'm getting new skates, as wonky things are starting to happen with my plate - I'm having toe stop issues - my left toe stop is spinning freely even though the bolt holding it in place is cranked in as far as it will go.  (The perils of being left-footed.) I had this issue with the same plate about three years ago - the metal around the hole completely broke.

like a donut of fail

I'd had the plate only for about a year or so at that point, so they replaced it for free.  Now that it's been three years, they probably wouldn't be as generous.  So yay for new skates.

Got my assignments for Battle of the All-Stars in two weeks - JRing for four and OPRing for two.  Six bouts in three days.  I really hope the hotel has laundry facilities.  I WILL NEED TO MAKE MORE ACTION SKIRTS.

beeble beeble beeble

So officiating clinics were announced.  I'd maybe go to the one in Cleveland but there's a home bout that day.  I applied to officiate at ECDX, so I suppose if I get that I could go to the one there.  All the other ones are pretty much too far away.  (Long Island is about 6.5 hours away - WHY DOES NEW YORK HAVE TO BE SUCH A BIG STATE?)

Division playoffs and championships were also announced.  I've always wanted to go to Montreal, and it's Labor Day weekend, so yeah, that's pretty much a given.

my life now

double-clicking an animated GIF eleventy million times trying to determine if a jammer made contact with both hands on an opponent or just one.

I've often thought that as a referee, it would be cool to have photographic recall of stuff like this, but then it would turn into The Entire History of You and I DO NOT NEED THAT IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW.

and I got a FB message - MY SKATES ARE AT THE SHOP THEY ARE AT THE SHOP IN BUFFALO WHY AM I HERE IN ROCHESTER WHEN MY SKATES ARE IN BUFFALO I'm making a special trip on Saturday to try them on I AM SO EXCITED.