long weekend

What a freaking time, and I have to say it was good that the boys were with us. I can only imagine the trouble we'd have gotten into without them. We successfully avoided all after parties, though we did eat a late supper at one of the places on the list of the pub crawl that ended the first night of the Honky Tonk Stomp, though there was in fact no party at this establishment when we went.

We missed everything but the two bouts Momma skated in of the first Tennessee roller derby conference, so I don't know what all happened that we just aren't aware of. Arriving late Friday night, we got the boys to sleep and wandered to a different room for a couple of beers with some other skaters. Saturday morning we visited with some Nashville friends before running late to get to the bout. I had to drop Momma off and go feed the boys fast food, which in no way helped the butt problems I suffered with over the weekend. It wasn't a major ordeal, just some minor discomfort that I could easily have done without.

Saturday night, HKRG played Memphis Roller Girls. They certainly had more fans than us, and they also had at least one fairly decent jammer, but I'm still astounded by the moves she came up with. Momma's moves are smooth and fluid, reading the pack and hitting the gas when needed. I'd say that most of our jammers skate similarly, though they do each have their own style. The jammer I'm talking about for MRD was insane. She skated like she practiced on some sort of '80's video game in which random obstacles would present themselves, a pit full of vipers perhaps or a sucking mud hole. If there'd have been a rope she'd have swung over the pack at least once. Our blockers took her down a few times though, which is always fun to see.

Halfway through the second period, The Boy insisted on being held. I didn't realize that he was asleep till he was well past waking up, so I spent about half the bout holding a sleeping four year old while screaming at the refs and yelling the word "ELBOWS, DAMMIT REF!" I really need to work on my screaming at the refs. It's not a good side of me. And my arm is still sore from holding him for so long.

One of our newest jammers got her first jammer take down against Memphis, and I actually jumped for joy. I do that sometimes, but this time I was holding a kid much too big to be held, and our heads bonked together a little bit. The jammer's husband was giddy as well, probably moreso. I can see that he's getting sucked into this roller derby too, and I can't wait to see the confidence this skater should take away from this moment.

We had a lovely pivot battle with Memphis, two long lost twins of the rink. It was definitely fun to watch those two go at it, pushing the very edge of the twenty feet rule. If you don't know, the jammer may not be engaged outside of twenty feet from the pack. This gives the jammer a chance to lap the pack, as, otherwise, a team could just send their pivot all around the rink, and the jammer would never score. As much as I love to see our pivot showing her mastery of the stall block, it really burns when it's their pivot doing nicely as well.

Sunday, Momma let me sleep in while she attempted to take the boys to breakfast. Everywhere was crowded, given the time and that it was a Sunday, so she hit the grocery store and came back to the hotel. To wake me up the rest of the way. She and the boys ate while I had some more butt problems and finally felt like eating when it was time to go.

HKRG played Nashville Sunday. We beat them not so long ago at our home, but such was not to be the case this time. I felt we played better as a team, but I think some people were taking the loss to Memphis to harshly, and I think that may have held the team back some. It's also odd that at the same time, the skaters who were on for the game wear totally on and worked really well together. It was still an awesome bout, but again, I have to say my yellling problem, in retrospect, is kind of embarassing. I'd do a lot better cheering as opposed to getting so pissed off at the refs. I do have a post in the back of my brain about this exact sort of thing I do. I'm not sure which direction I'll find myself going, but it's a problem most readers here don't see. But I'll have to remember to talk to you bout it.

Sunday, after the bout we ended up driving south to the farm home of the parent of one of our skaters and hanging out with her and her hsuband and kids. Big Brother got to ride the four wheeler once before the skater's mother decided she couldn't sleep, and we wondered why she was going to bed so early? It was between nine and ten I think, but we didn't set the clock in the car when we entered the central time zone, so all the way down to the farm, nearly an hour drive, I was convinced that it was an hour later than it really was, even though I was also constantly being reminded that it wasn't that late. I should have set the clock now that I think about it because that damn think kept me fucked up all weekend.

We ate hot dogs and chips and drove back to the hotel, earlier than the clock said. We got the boys to bed, opened a beer, and heard a noise on the balcony. It was one of our refs, stuck as one of the only people at the hotel that any of us knew. I think he was happy to have someone to chat with, so we shared our beer with him until it was gone and went to bed, earlier than we had any other night.

Monday was IHOP and a visit with our friends in Nashville again. Their kids and our kids played and got mosquito bites and got dirty. Big Brother left with black toes, and both boys had gray streaked faces. We hung out until we had to leave to come back home, and there it was. Not a bad drive, and we were back to needing to wash dishes, and the trash needs to go out. But most of the toys are picked up. And that's always a good sign. Having a full day at home, we can begin to look forward to the next time we travel. Maybe we should get a baby sitter this time. It's not much farther than Nashville, and it's only one day.

back home

We, meaning mostly me and Momma, have had a few more road trips the past year than we have generally taken, and a couple of times, the boys joined us. They have all been roller derby related, and for that, I have to thank derby for yet another bonus.

I think derby has been great for the family as a whole. We've all made new friends, and Momma specifically has gotten to realize the kind of bad ass that she can be. With the announcing gig, I've gotten to put my loud mouth to some good finally.

And then there are the couple of trips we've taken, places we may not have visited otherwise, like Birmingham Alabama as well as Idiotapolis Indiana. Most recently we drove to Nashville for two days of derby and a good bit less over-the-top partying than we've become accustomed to. In trade, we got some more low key hanging out with a couple of cool people around a few cans of beer.

But no matter how lovely a trip may be, home always welcomes, even if it is a sink full of dirty dishes and recyclables overflowing from multiple surfaces.

And that's why you haven't had to read any insanity from me lately. We spent a few days in Nashville and caught up with some old friends in addition to the derby. I'll admit now that our team lost both matches that we played, and I'll probably leave it at that. Our league does have room for improvement, though our bout against Nashville actually saw most of our girls playing more as a team than they have lately. And still, no matter what the outcome, I am proud of Hard Knox.

And though this is barely a post, it's my welcome-me-back. I've got plenty to talk about, and I may even slip one of my patented crazy ass rants in somewhere. I've been tagged for a meme by one of my favorite bloggers, and though I may have done this particular one before, it's a fun one that you can likely look forward to soon.

And I can smell yet another late supper cooking in the kitchen. The kids are being slightly buttish to each other and need yet more straightening out.