First up it was time to drag my substantial arse out of bed to meet up with Devastatin’ Dotti and Titasaurus for a “Roller Girl” photo shoot with the lovely Nikki Toole.

Roller girl is a photography project inspired by 19^th century Military Portraits and the shots are just gorgeous. To see all the photos taken so far visit http://www.iseestars.com.au/

For more information check out the roller girl Facebook page here. I don’t believe there are any slots left for this year but if Nikki does them again next year I highly recommend getting on board. It’s an awesome experience and a great keepsake of your derby experience.

After getting home I had about an hour before Sally (The Flyin’ Nun Chucka) was to pick me up for out road trip to Geelong to play. Loaded up on throat lozenges and pain killers we set off (fashionably early) for my first game as a South Sea Siren.

I forgot to mention that 2 weeks leading up to the bout I had been quite sick with what both myself and the doctors assumed was tonsillitis. I had missed a few training sessions, about a week off work and was generally just feeling like shite. However I did honestly believe I was on the mend just prior to the bout so I felt like I would be ok to play and not let the team down.

Mercifully due to the sickness and lack of attendance I was not put out to play as much as usual. I was running high on adrenaline and could not feel my sore throat at all. But I was sweating constantly and my tummy towards the end was feeling a little off. I knew I would be going back to the doctors this week.

Besides the sickness the bout was a bit of a blur for me. It was so strange for me to be playing somewhere other than Springers. The floor was fairly slippery compared to what I’m used to but the main difference was in playing the Bloody Marys in comparison to playing fellow South Sea Alumni. The fear of the unknown actually made me quite nervous about 5 mins before play started but it settled down and I still had a really good time playing with the Sirens against a common enemy.

They were quick, so very very quick. Hard hitting, decisive and did I mention quick already?

It was a well fought game but the Mary’s came out victorious in the end. The final score being 129 to 80. I honestly feel like we could take it to these girls next time. I really hope we get another chance next year.

After the game we went back to Altona for a delicious feast prepared by Geelong’s grenade O’Connor and her masterchef hubby Leon. It was a lovely end to a massive day.

I went to the doctor the morning after the bout in incredible pain, diagnosis : glandular fever. BALLS.

So can I get my tough guy/stupidity award for bouting with glandular fever in chocolate form please?

I guess this will now be my little derby hiatus, not by choice, but if I want to get better quickly I have been advised to rest up for at least 4-6 weeks and pray that it doesn’t lead into chronic fatigue. I really want to be able to play again before the season is out.

Still there is plenty to keep myself occupied with. SSRD are playing VRDL’s queen Bees ( The B travel team) In September. (more details and tickets here) This is sure to be a massive challenge. VRDL’s B Team are currently undefeated and with the Sirens coming off their first loss it’s going to be a hard fought game indeed. I’m a little gutted I can’t play but at least I can still NSO like the good old days.

I will also get a little more time to myself to catch up on graphics work and website stuff which is good.

In other news, my wifey Razorbec, has convinced me to take up “Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation challenge” which will start in mid September. I will be sure to keep a track of my progress on here over the 12 weeks. I’m hoping it will help me get down to my pre-bootcamp weight and then next year I’ll really be able to bring it on the track.

<3 blitz