This weekend, between home improvement and baby showers, I was finally able to take my dad to the roller derby. This time the bout was in a sports complex in the industrial section of a small town, a venue I had never been to before
On the way there, my father said "Doesn't it feel like we're going to a fight club?". I think that pretty much describes the back alley feeling of the whole thing.
The place turned out to be ok but I did wish that there had been cotton candy available at the snack bar. There is just no substitute for that. As an adult I feel that it is my right to have cotton candy at every chance, and roller derby should be one of those chances.
Starting the first Jam - waiting for the whistle.
Deis Irea and Alethal Weapon as Jammers
Anyways, I lost a buck to my dad betting which team would win. I picked the team with my favorite jammer -Quick Fire. I like her because she is very quick, but also because she's small but can take some pretty hard hits.
However, dad's team also had a star jammer, La Lucha. She is undeniably fast and can squeeze through the pack like she is covered in butter. I'm pretty sure that is exactly how my dad likes to envision her. Best of all, she is quite a showman (show-woman?) on the rink and fun to watch.
Dad and La Lucha
What really brought his team to victory was their defense- a really strong and talented pack. Dad picked it out during practice.
We're going back next month... maybe I'll bring my own cotton candy this time.
I know it's been a while... and there is lots to blog about....but I have to start somewhere.
M started Preschool this week and it's gone really well. She gets to take a bus to and from her school and I can work in her classroom a day a week, which is super fun.
Mornings are a little rough, not because she doesn't want to get up but because she CANNOT WAIT for the bus to come get her. On the second day of school, the first thing she said to me when she woke up was "Is the bus here?!". It quickly turned into tears and we had to reach a compromise.
This is the compromise.. after she gets dressed, she can sit and longingly look for the bus out the window.
Mostly she watches the kids walking to the school near our house, but it buys us 5-10 minutes of non-tear filled time in the morning. I think it's a good deal for all involved, especially Chubby (the bear).
A friend reminded me to record some of the fun times.... so this is for daddy (at the Mt Hood stage race) and for all the grandparents, and for anyone else out there who needs a reminder to come visit.
At one of the campuses I work at we have large groups of oak trees and generally forested areas. Recently maintenance has been bringing in sheep and goats on the weekends for vegetation control. Everyone praised the idea saying that it was the "green" thing to do. I find that statement funny since we're renting sheep and goats to get rid of the green... but whatever.
I'm in favor of the idea because GOATS! We're a decidedly pro-goat household even though we have no real reason to be. We're never owned goats, used goats, or been closer to them than at the state fair. But we certainly enjoy the idea of them, their babies are super cute, their milk makes great cheese and since we appreciate them from afar, we think they are nifty.
Back to the college... I teach a class on Fridays and Saturdays when there are few, if any, other classes on campus. While driving on campus I came upon the sheep and goats munching away in a movable gated area. The way they were situated put them right up against the parking lot I wanted to park in and I smiled at them as I parked and unloaded my books to go to class.
Later, when I came back to the car I noticed that they had really eaten down all the tall grass and taken all the new growth off the underbrush. I could see a handler setting up fences to make a new pen for them to move into, one that would bring them right up against my car. The animals knew what to do, starting to crowd the fence leading into the new area and I saw he had a couple of llamas with the other animals.
As he got closer I said "I see you have llamas too.. are those for the high brush?".
He opened the new pen and the llamas came through first. He said "No, those are gaurd llamas".
I laughed out loud, "Ha! Guard llamas! Funny!" because, of course he was kidding.
The llamas were getting pretty close to my end of the pen now.
"No," he said, yelling over the sounds of the herd coming through."Really! Guard llamas!"
I heard the warning in his voice as the first llama started getting very close, making a low throaty sound.
"Really! How long are you going to be here? You should probably get in your car!" He yelled as the llama finally reached me.
I jumped in my car quickly but my window was rolled down a little and I was faced with a llama staring at me, chewing and getting ready to spit.
"You should go now!" I heard the man say.
I pulled out and watched the llamas following me around the perimeter of the lot..always putting themselves between me and the rest of the animals.
So..I'd never heard of guard llamas... but after googling it, I guess it's a thing. They use them a lot in Canada and wherever they need to protect sheep from coyotes.
I guess they're pretty good at protecting sheep from chemistry teachers too.
