I have so very cool news to share. I'm pretty excited and you should be too! Tomorrow I'm going to be live on the radio with two of my fellow skaters (Dropkick Muffy and Kobra Kai) pimping A FULL WEEKEND OF DERBY right here in Lincoln, Nebraska. That's right, me, on the radio! I'm exceedingly jazzed. It'll be on at 8am on the Blaze 104.1 FM (if you're not Lincoln local you can stream it right here to your computer or smart phone) and 106.3 FM KFRX at 8:30 (again available streaming to phones and comps alike right here).
Our very own Kobra Kai sneaking by an Omaha blocker at our last bout.
You'll get to hear about the upcoming bouts (2 on Friday! 2 on Saturday!), what it's like to be a derby girl and even win some tickets so be sure to tune in! If you are in the Lincoln area you should definitely come check us out. I'll be playing in the first bout Friday night for the Roadies (white). First whistle is at 7:03 but if you want good seats be there by 6:30. You can buy your tickets right here from Ticketmaster or at the Pershing Center Box Office. If you're there, swing by and say hi! My derby name is Kilda Messenger and I'd love to meet you! When I'm not playing I'll be down on the floor shooting photos of the Maxines bout.
Edited to add: Bouts are very family friendly with kids activities at half time and kids under 12 are FREE.
Photo by me, Shayna Kalish. Please don't take it without permission and crediting me! (If you ask, it's almost guaranteed I'll say yes!)
So if you know me in real life, you know how much I love Australia. If you don't, the reason is that I spent six months there doing a semester abroad at the University of Melbourne and touring the east coast.
Seriously, Oz is the most amazing place. It's full of all these totally cool things and sayings and plants and places that are nothing like anything that exists on any other continent. One of the places I didn't get to go to but is on the top of my list for when I go back (and I will be going back, thank you very much!) is Uluru (formerly known as Ayer's Rock). Uluru is in the middle of the Outback in extreme desert conditions. So when I saw this post (via web-goddess), I knew I had to share. This week, Uluru got a rainstorm for the first time in over 20 years. This photos are pretty awesome and speak for themselves.
And we're back! Adjusting back to real life is no simple task, and we're tackling it head on with some good old fashioned quality couch time. Teaser photos are in, so recap and honeymoon talk coming soon!
Forgive me if this post turns to Ramble City, USA. I'm not sure exactly what I want to say, but I feel like I want to say something. Or I should. Or something.
I am getting married tomorrow. Well, it's 1:12am, so technically I am getting married today. It's the most surreal feeling. I told my dad tonight that I'm as ready as I'll ever be, that I think you can only be 95% ready until you've already done the thing.
Ari called me his wife today. I turned into a little gooey mess of girly loveitude. Really, honestly, I love the "stuff" that goes with my wedding, but I am ready for my marriage already. It's not about my beautiful dress or lovely flowers (that my mom, friend Ros and I have slaved over for the last 2 days) or the dancing or the cake. It's about this wonderful, incredible, perfectly imperfect person who has chosen to love me and let me love him back. Ari, Baby, I can't wait to stand in front of all the people I love and tell them why I'm yours.
I have this song stuck in my head.
It's going to be a good day. I can't wait. Married.
This afternoon I'm off home to New York for my sister's birthday, delivery at college and the rest of my mad wedding prep. Still not done packing so I'll keep it brief. I may be sad to leave my honey, but I'll sure be glad to see this:
This has been my mantra of late. Anytime I get stressed or nervous or anxious or frustrated with the wedding, I repeat that over and over again (in a fun little singsong voice) until I feel better. Because no matter how crazy things get, on September 6, Ari and I will be getting on a plane and going here.
That's Club Med Turkoise. Everything is already paid for (except tips). Air is booked and they take us to and from the airport. I expect my hardest decision all week to be whether I should drink my pina colada by the beach or the pool. And bonus points for being an adult-only resort. I love kids, I really do, but I don't want to have to deal with them on my honeymoon. Oh yeah, and did I mention I will be doing lots of this?
Only I won't be sticking my ass out like I'm terrified of leaving the board. Shoulders back, hips forward!
Cos they have a flying trapeze there kids. I haven't flown in almost two years and I miss it so badly. I am beyond excited. I really hope the safety belts really are that gold color, because then I will totally pretend I am Wonder Woman.
So with 45 days to go, things are coming fast and furious. Some of the bigger things have gotten left later than they should have (thank you blog overload and massive indecision!) but it means they all start happening pretty rapid fire. On the agenda for today is ordering our ketubah, booking our honeymoon and ordering my veil! That means I'll actually have a complete outfit, the ability to have a ceremony and a week of total bliss full of booze, beach, flying trapeze (we're going to club med - so excited!) and my new husband (husband!). This thing is really happening!
It's the Yellow Treehouse and until very recently, it was a functioning restaurant. Unsurprisingly, it's in New Zealand. Apparently it was a stunt for Yellow Pages, a sorta, "look, with us you really can get anything done!" type deal. Despite that, it's incredible. I want to go there NOW. It's not a restaurant anymore, but it will be an event venue very soon (can I get married there, please?).
Plus, it has the coolest website. I want it for my very own.
Last night I did a brave thing. I went to a concert all by myself. I'd wanted to see Iron and Wine for an age, and didn't go the last time I had a chance. So this time, with Ari's encouragement, I sucked it up, bought a ticket (7th to last) online and got in the car. That was the complicated part. I forgot about football traffic. And I was already a half hour late for the start time because I had wavered about going. Now, I live in State College, home of Penn State and the Nittany Lions. I now know, thanks to Mr. McGee that Beaver Stadium (where the lions play) is the third largest stadium in the world and the largest in the Western hemisphere. So, that creates a bit of traffic when those 106,000 people try to leave a town whose entire population is only slightly larger than that. An hour and 45 minute drive turned into 2 and a half. I was an hour and 15 minutes late.
Anyhow, I got there, found some nice boys to direct me once I was on campus and arrived just in time to see the last 5 songs of the opener, Roman Candle. They were pretty good. Then it was time for Iron and Wine. He opened with Such Great Heights. It was funny, the song was beautiful, most of the people knew it, and he asked everyone to sing along several times. But clearly these people didn't quite get the concept of a folk concert, because if Sam wasn't singing, they weren't either, even if they knew the words.
He played a bunch of other songs I really like like "Naked As We Came," "Sodom, South Georgia," "Each Coming Night" and "Sunset Soon Forgotten." Then, I really started hoping he would play my favorite Iron and Wine song, "The Trapeze Swinger" and no less than 10 seconds later, this started.
It was nothing short of amazing. I felt it down to my bones. I was so grateful that he played it. He kept playing. I stopped feeling (as) self-conscious about being there by myself. He played some new songs I didn't know but still enjoyed. Then, just as I began to hope for another song, it started.
It was great. Almost all acoustic. It was the last song of the set, such a good way to go out. He came out and played a short, one song encore. I was surprise though, that people left before the encore even though the house lights hadn't come back on. It was weird. The only real bummer was that the show was so short. He barely played more than an hour. But Iron and Wine was great to see live. Sam Beam's voice is as beautiful and perfect in person as it is recorded, a rare talent and a rare treat for me. If you have the chance to see him in concert, go. He'll be in Champaign, IL on Sept. 19 and in Anchorage, AK at the University of Alaska on Sept. 25.
Last night was incredible. I needed to be reminded how much I love music. I definetely want a live band for my wedding. I was a live band at my whole life, I always want to feel like I did last night. Even a two hour drive in the dark through the mountains felt just fine after that.
