i'm just a faithful wrecking ball...

this is what's been going on behind the radio station for the past month [click to make it bigger]. there used to be a large building aptly called "the warehouse", and two smaller buildings [a drycleaner, and a barber shop] that have been there since at least the 50s i'm sure.

kinda sad, i won't lie. i don't think i like change.

ugly duckling you're drowning...

i feel so uninspired lately.

don't get me wrong, kelowna is nice, but i miss vancouver. i miss my vancouver friends, i miss feeling inspired to craft and put together interesting outfits. i miss going to shows every week. i miss record stores, i miss downtown, and i miss the ocean.

we've managed to find things to do here, i have made friends through derby and work, but every time i go back to vancouver, see my lovelies, and go do interesting things like poetry slams, late night house parties & vintage shopping, i know it's not the same.

it feels like there's endless opportunity in vancouver, whereas here we have to fight hard to keep from getting complacent.

we're all pretty grumpy lately too. i think it's the heat, really. it's been in the 30s every day and there's a perpetual haze of smoke in the air. it's a little discouraging after a while when it's so warm for so many days in a row. hopefully it breaks soon!

blue skies + rain clouds

good news and bad...

i passed my WFTDA skills test. that was the last holdout too, so now that i've passed my skills test, endurance test, and written test, i am fully WFTDA certified!

also, i found out that my derby name, holly go-blightly, was approved. it is now my name for life! awesome. i was worried about it being rejected because it's similar to a few other girls' in the states but it all worked out.

the bad news though is that i didn't make the bout roster for the aug 14th home double header bout. i know my family was looking forward to seeing me, and i was really hoping now that i'm certified i could work my way on the list. there will be others. it just means another month of fielding "are you skating in it? why aren't you skating!??" type questions though.

can't win 'em all.

WFTDAs...

i have my WFTDA re-testing today. i was brutal sick last time we did them and failed by thiiiis much, which means i need to re-test tonight if i want to play in any upcoming bouts. no pressure.

i'm getting tested on my ability to:
skate in derby stance
skate at a good pace in derby stance
do crossovers in derby stance
fall properly [one knee, two knee, 4-point/porn star, and baseball slide]
stop properly [snowplow, t-stop, and toe stop. hopefully not mohawk...]
hit
take hits
do whips [arm and hip]
lean on someone else while skating
push properly [pull them in them in then push out for momentum!]
jump over lines
and potentially weave through cones if we have time.

normally i'd be all over it, as i've managed to hone my skills nicely in the 7 months i've owned my skates, but i'm kind of an injured party at the moment. i fell on thursday and the formed structure at the top of my kneepad slipped down in the fall & hit the top of my knee at an angle that has created a nice little bruise and rendered me a little incapacitated. so i basically can't bend my knee that well, and the idea of falling on it, on purpose, makes me cringe. bad timing.

i'm going to just go hard, do my testing, then take the bench for the rest of practice and work on healing. wish me luck...

smoky skies + red velvet cupcakes

we're in the midst of another fire here in kelowna, almost exactly a year after the one in glenrosa. luckily the fire crews seem to have it contained which is wonderful news! hopefully the wind stays at bay and the temperatures stay cool tomorrow so they can finish it off.

on a happier note, this is what i got up to this evening:


i made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing! it was my first time making them, but now that i have the oven in this place figured out, it's opened up a whole lot of cupcake opportunities!

i have my WFTDA skills re-testing tomorrow, and i'm currently nursing an injured knee. wish me luck...