Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Self-Portrait Tuesdays: Streptococcus!


Streptococcus
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
I have strep, again. I haven't had a streptococcus throat infection since I was a kid, but I used to get them all the time. As you can see, my tonsils are swollen and infected. They are also so sore that I can't swallow anything that is not in liquid form. My fever is gone, it was at one-oh-one-point-seven on Sunday, and around nintey-nine yesterday. I got some antibiotics from the doctor yesterday, after waiting at the office for two hours and being annoyed, insulted and prodded by med students. I'm not supposed to show my face in public for the next 48 hours to avoid contaminating the general populace. My plague-ridden self must stay at home and eat popscicles and answer emails all day long. I thought this would be a nice break, but I am bored and crabby and I CANNOT SWALLOW! Rollerderby is still moving along, I missed practice with Penny Royalty and I am so sad. I never get to hang out with her when she comes to town. Matt didn't get to see her either, but that's his own fault because he's lazy and he shouldn't complain to me about it. I've been trying to avoid the painkillers that have "PM" in the name on the bottle, but I think those are the ones i took, because my head is a little fuzzy right now. I will try to be healthy for next week's self portrait tuesday.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Friday Nights at BBh are back!

We were so insanly busy tonight. Maggie and I pulled the Host shift off with few hitches. It seemed like every jerk in the metro area came in for dinner though. All night long it was a parade of crabby, rude, impossible to please people. One of Diana's tables got up and moved TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RESTAURANT without telling her because the room they were in was "too crowded." What kind of idiot does that? Seriously, you'd think none of these people had ever been out to eat before. The staff kept it together and the kitchen rocked. No one had to wait an inordinant amount of time for food or table service, and we all got out of there at a reasonable hour. It's good to be busy again. BBh runs best when teetering on the brink of chaos, so I'm glad when we're slammed. I'm gonna hit the sack, I've got work and a ton of other stuff to do tomorrow.

Ouch.

I am sore in places I didn't know I had muscles. I got up and tried to stretch, I'm not sure if I was successful. The cold is almost gone, only the cough remains. Ken worked us so hard last night, and I probably should have been a little more low-key, what with the recovery from flu and all, but I was so excited to get out there and sacrifice my body on the altar of Roller Derby. Now, I feel the need to go back to sleep. At least til Sunday.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

I feel shredded, and it's a good thing!

We had our first practice with Coach Ken and I am SORE. It's great. I knew this was going to be fun, but I am still surprised at how great I feel. I stretched, I swerved, I slammed into walls, I think I improved my cross-overs. I am head over heels in love with roller derby and all the awesome women involved. My hopes have been surpassed and I can't wait for Sunday's practice!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

One Hundred and Two Degree Fever


IMG_1721
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
"Tuesdays are for self-portraits!" I proclaimed to April one night as we skated in circles, dodging prepubescentbrats while discussing our blogs. (Can I just say here how happy I am to have an April in my life, someone who shares many of my strange and geeky obsessions?Thanks for being April, and it's not just the Nyquil talking, I swear.) "Okay, sure." said she, and then I promptly forgot. Now we are two weeks in and I am burning up, hacking up and not getting up out of bed. Still, I cannot let a little influenza get me down. It didn't stop me from going to Rollercade tonight and shouting about the ARRG yahoo groups. So here we have it. Self Portrait Tuesday the First. I meant what I said and I said what I meant, a Rollergirl's faithful, one hundred percent.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

New Direction for Sundays

Well, we had our first practice at the Skatium. I'm really happy with the space, it's huge and it is all ours. We did Yoga warm ups, skated around for a while, did some time trials and practiced falling. I can't wait to get in there on Thursday with Ken so we can start the real work. I'm so excited about really getting rolling.
I can hardly believe that this is happening. It's almost unreal how well the League has come together, and how quickly everything is falling into place. I mean, I know it's not just falling into place, a bunch of people have put in a ton of hard work to get us where we are today, but I'm still a bit stunned. Five months ago this was just some crazy idea I had. Now it's like I've made sixty new friends and people are depending on me to keep them in the loop, help them decide all sorts of things, and I am responsible for so much. I think I'm getting better at the whole public speaking thing, and I've definatley gotten more organized. I just have to continue stumbling through each day without looking or sounding like the giant geek that I am and everything will be fine.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Arch Rival Rollergirls Benefit Success!


check that crowd!
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
Our benefit show at the Way Out Club was a huge success. The show was sold out by 10:30 pm, whic is awesome when you consider that the doors opened at 9pm. We raised a ton of money, and are officially out of debt! This was a great begining. Everyone really came together and worked their butts off. T-shirts were sold, kisses were had, prizes were given away, a cool slideshow was presented, my mom came, much beer was imbibed and everyone had a blast. I think we're going to do it again next month. Only different, you know, to keep em on their toes.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

What has little Kiki been up to these days?


All lined up
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
Kate took me to the warehouse she works at and showed me how she's been spending her time. I won't say which parade these are for, I don't want to spoil anyone's surprise, but they are awesome! Keeks likes her job, she doesn't seem bored with it, which is saying a lot. The floats are huge and beautiful, I never imagined how much went into these parades. I've never been in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but now I understand how much time and work goes in, and why people (Mainly my husband) say it is the best party on earth.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Disaster Tourism


Tag on a house in Nola
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
The last vacation Matt and I took together was our trip to New York for New Years 2002. That's right folks, we went right after 9-11. It was a great little vacation, we spent time partying with all of our friends in Brooklyn. It was definatly not one of those "Lets go to Ground Zero and gawk at the destruction" trips. I didn't think we needed to make the spot where thousands of people died a stop on our tour. Let the dead rest in peace.
Matt and I went to New Orleans this weekend to visit Kate and Eldon. Avoiding the disaster in New Orleans is impossible. Case in point, see the photo. Marks like this one are on every building in the city. Let me decipher for you: the number on the top (9-6) is the date of inspection of this particular edifice. On the left (Tx1) is the code for the unit (police, military, volunteer) that inspected the building. The letters on the right (NE) stand for any toxic or hazardous materials found on site, and the bottom (0- thankfully) is the body count.
These marks, as I said, are everywhere. They are unavoidable as you walk or drive through the city. I also noticed many buildings had HSUS- Humane Socitey spray-painted on them as well, along with animals sighted such as "Two cats seen, food and water left" and a date.
So many people were left homeless, so many animals left behind. The effects of the hurricane are in your face all over New Orleans. It was impossible to avoid the site of the disaster like we did in New York. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad one, but I did a lot more thinking about the people and pets affected by the hurricane in New Orleans than I had planned to do on my vacation.
When we see things on the news shows, and read about them in papers and on the internet we are so removed from the situation. Being there actually made me realise that this city has a ton of healing to do. I don't doubt that New Orleans will make a comeback. So many of the people who have returned are still in love with it, willing to rebuild and return to their lives. I wonder if St. Louis were similarly affected if most of us would have the heart and care enough to put forth the effort to bring our city back.
New Orleans is just as alive and beautiful as it was the last time I was there, and as cheesy as it sounds, that gives me hope.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

ARRG!

Last night's meeting went well, details later. Big events planned, merch committee is rollin! Rollerderby in St. Louis is taking off. I cannot believe the monster I have created. It's a good monster, but definatley one with teeth and claws. I have to talk to the media folks, and I'm totally freaked, but I just wanna get it over with. I cannot wait for t-shirts, and for our big benefit on the 20th. Bleah, more later.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

For April

I'm only doing this because she asked me, second only to HER HUSBAND and that makes me feel really special. blech.
Here Goes

7 things to do before I die:
1. Return to Venice
2. Learn to crochet
3. Fix up my scooter
4. Kick some derby ass
5. Live in New York for a year
6. Have some kids (I know! wierd!)
7. Write a novel

7 things I cannot do:
1. play the drums
2. drive safely in the rain
3. shoot a gun
4. pushups
5. check out less than five books at a time from the library
6. skate backwards
7. work a drum sander

7 things that attract me to people
1. cool socks
2. smart-assedness
3. vast knowledge of different beer styles
4. smell
5. fancy kitchen appliances
6. obsessive reading habits
7. that certain je ne sais quoi

7 things I say most often
1. I'm knitting...
2. Honey, have you seen my keys?
3. Bacon
4. Roller Derby
5. Wi-Fi is the best thing that ever happened to me!
6. I'm reading. I can't hear you.
7. How would you like that cooked?

7 books or series I love (in no particular order)
1. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
2. Anything by Tamora Pierce
3. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
4. My Dictionary, which I've had since I was a kid
5. So Far From God by Ana Castillo
6. All the Harry Potter books
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques

7 movies I can watch over and over:
1. True Romance
2. Star Wars
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Spirited Away
5. The Goonies
6. Drop Dead Gorgeous
7. The Red Violin

7 people I want to join in
1. Matt
2. Dad
3. Joe
4. Jodi
5. Stephanie
6. Jill
7. Drew

There you go. Now you know.

Soulard on Saturday


Soulard on Saturday
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
I went to breakfast with Toni. She had to run down to Soulard Market for apples. I love going to the market, mostly just to look at everything and everyone. Soulard attracts people from all over the St. Louis area, people from all different backgrounds and ethnic groups. It is also the only place I know of where you can but goat meat, or freshly trapped racoons and squirrels, local honey, ten apples for a dollar and a plastic cup of Busch Lite to enjoy while you shop. I took pictures and bought acorn squash.
We stopped by an open house on the way home and decided that "gut rehab" is not for us, although we liked the idea of an upstairs laundry room. I came home to knit and make a flyer for the roller derby benefit show. I'm just not feeling the verbosity today, but I must blog. Sorry.

Friday, January 06, 2006

my preciouses


my preciouses
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
I went to the yarn store intending to purchase the noro silk garden for "Lizzy," the cute sweater in the last post. I need 9 skeins for the sweater and they only had five. The nice lady said she could order some more for me, in the same dyelot, but it might take a while. So I bought other things. I got some new circular bamboo needles, some double pointed needles and three skeins of yarn. I know! Only three. Be impressed with my self-restraint. Now, to get my knit on.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

coveting


noro13t
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
My sweet, sweet mother has given me a gift certificate to the LYS for xmas. I have no idea why she gave me said gift certificate, since she also gave me tons of beautiful sock yarn which is so pretty I don't even want to knit with it, I just want to stare at it and fondle it for hours. (pictures later when I find the misplaced camera) So I decided to go the the LYS today and grab some of the famed Noro Silk Garden yarn that everyone in the blogosphere raves about. I was thinking "Hat! Silk Garden Hat!" I've seen several versions of hats made from said yarn, all lovely. Then I saw this. I would look so cute in this! I love cardigans, I love lettuce edges. I look nothing like this model, but I MUST make this sweater. So I'm off to do errands (recycling, lightbulb and cat food purchasing, husband to work driving) and then I'm stopping at the yarn store. Mantra: I will not spend more than the amount on the gift certificate. I will not spend more...

Sunday, January 01, 2006

New Year's Day

I started this year off at home. I don't really do New Year's Eve. We usually have a brunch at our house, but this year, Duff's was open. I worked this morning and about half of my tables were friends. I saw Gabe Gretchen, Paul, Jaxon, Carolyn, Nikki, Nina, Joey, Charles, Linda and Christine. I made great money and then I went to John and Jenna's to watch Star Wars. I made it thru two and a half movies (I came in in the middle of episode 2 and left after episode 4) before I had to split. I saw Matt James and Lizz, Helen and Chris, I got to finally meet Teegan Connely. Kerry, Erica, Anchovy, Matt and Allison Rabbitt, Riz and Justin were all there. We ate pizza and had a good time. But then I got to missin my boy and I just had to come home. So here I am, back in Fox Park, with a bookcase to assemble and a double shift tomorrow. Twelve days til New Orleans and I have so many things to do. this year is gonna be great.