Quick guide to getting started in roller derby
So you want to play roller derby? First of all, congrats on officially making one of your better life choices! Aside from being a fun and challenging way to get exercise and explore your athletic side, roller derby has some astoundingly fantastic side-effects including increased confidence, immediate and massive expansion of your social circle, and the opportunity to exert physical violence in legal and, in fact, highly encouraged capacity. So with all that said, is it really possible to go from zero skating experience to roller derby bad-ass? Speaking from my own extensive experience as well as from years of teaching others, my answer is an unequivocal HELLS YEAH! Here are a few key things you can do to get prepped and ready to embark on your new and exciting life as a roller derby kicker of the ass.
What are your Halloween costumes this year?
Last Halloween, I was finally able to unveil my costume that took me all year to put together: Steampunk Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time. This year, I’m continuing on with the Adventure Time Halloween theme, but with a LOT less preparation. Now I want to know what YOU guys came up with. Adding photos to our Flickr pool so we can all see, is an added bonus. What’s your Halloween costume this year?
How I made my own working miniature dark ride inspired by Disney’s Haunted Mansion
Though I cannot afford to build or run an actual dark ride, nor even set up a Halloween yard, I have wanted to create a dark ride inspired by Disney’s Haunted Mansion since I was about eight years old. I finally determined a way, however, to bring my own dark ride ideas to life…
How planning Wonder Woman’s funeral made me plan my own as a gift to my family
As I weighed various personal, cultural, and religious reasons for cremation versus embalming Wonder Woman, it suddenly occurred to me that “don’t spend a lot of money” — my only stipulation for my own funeral and body disposition — was impractical and potentially problematic. No matter how well my family knew me they would still be left guessing about the specifics.
Make your own boney shoes fit for a Grim Reaper on holiday
My house is one stone sarcophagus from becoming a crypt, thanks to the piles of skeletons, bones, skulls, and various asunder bits and pieces that could be turned into bones given the right time. So of course I figured I needed to add more to my bone collection with boney shoes…
Halloween costumes based on song lyrics
Calling all music geeks for a Halloween question! If you were going to create a Halloween costume that was based on specific lyrics or a character from a song, what song comes to mind? One example would be “Devil With a Blue Dress On” which has lots of descriptive details in the verses and the chorus. Any other suggestions for costumes based on songs?
Help I’m cracked-out on chapstick: How to ditch your lip balm habit in 5 steps
I used to have a serious lip balm habit. I had to have lip balm in my purse at all times. I also had a couple of sticks around my apartment, and I would have a minor panic attack if there wasn’t a Chapstick in arm’s reach. For someone like me whose lip “dryness” doesn’t arise from any actual medical condition or symptom, I realized lip balm was unnecessary. Here are some recommendations for cutting out lip balm, and simplifying this one tiny aspect of life…
Workplace bullying: It happens, it sucks, and here’s what you can do
According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, targets are usually independent, ethical, nurturing, “‘go-to’ veteran workers to whom new employees turn for guidance.” That was me in a nutshell. In 2003, Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik defined a cycle of Employee Emotional Abuse (aka bullying), here’s how that exact cycle played out in real life…