NEW TIMES - Bouts start at 4pm now, doors open at 3pm. That means they end by 8.

** Note the first one starts on a Sunday. These 3 bouts will have 30-minute expos as the opener, like last season. The DCRG is working on finding teams for the expos.****

• Sun, Sep 27 = DC Demoncats vs. Scare Force One
  
• Sat, Oct 31 = Scare Force One vs. Cherry Blossom Bombshells
  
• Sat, Nov 28 = Cherry Blossom Bombshells vs. DC Demoncats
  

• Sat, Dec 19 = All-stars and B team double header. Opponents TBD.
  

**The following 3 bouts will either be full-length double-headers, with the All-Stars playing a sanctioned bout before the home teams, or will have 30-minute expos, depending on visiting team availability.**

• Sat, Jan 16 = DC Demoncats vs. Scare Force One
  
• Sat, Feb 13 = Scare Force One vs. Cherry Blossom Bombshells
  
• Sat, Mar 6 = Cherry Blossom Bombshells vs. DC Demoncats
  

** And finally **

• Sat, Apr 10 = Home season championships w/ 30-minute expo for third place team.
  
• Sat, May 8 = All-Stars vs.Dominion; B team vs. TBD
  

From the DC Rollergirls:

On Saturday our league has a bike wash fundraiser at the Patriot Harley in Fairfax. Below is our website link with more details http://www.dcrollergirls.com/

Please pass it on to anyone you know who's interested in washing their bike

It's Saturday, Aug 1st, 10am - 2pm.

Directions:
From the Capitol Beltway (I-495), take Arlington Boulevard (Rt. 50) west and travel approximately 5 miles until you enter Fairfax City. Continue approximately 3/4 mile until you see Patriot Harley-Davidson, Inc. on your left at its traffic signal intersection with Draper Drive.

From I-66, take Route 243 Nutley Street (Exit 62) south. As you come off of the ramp onto Nutley Street, turn right at your THIRD traffic light onto Fairfax Boulevard (Rt. 29 - south). Continue through THREE more lights, 0.8 mile and bear right at Fairfax Circle to go West 50/South 29. Proceed 0.2 mile to our dealership on your left at its traffic signal intersection with Draper Drive.

Patriot Harley-Davidson
9739 Fairfax Blvd Fairfax VA 22031
Phone: 703-352-5400 Fax: 703-352-5470

Well, takayla is in Japan, and having a pretty good time despite being a stranger in a strange land and a little homesick. We IM each other every day, send texts, and she sometimes calls, but it costs a LOT to use her cell, so we don't do that often. She's been sending me a lot of stuff about Japan, and it sounds utterly fascinating. Giant crows, decorated traffic cones, soda vending machines are everywhere, and the town she's at right now plays a little tune over the loudspeakers every day at 5pm. She's also been the guest for several people, dealt with the local town council, and been eating all kinds of new food.

I am totally jealous. But I am also having the most amazing adventures.

I am staying at Brian and Anya's house a few days here and there so they can give me rides to the metro while takayla is gone. They have been very gracious hosts, and I am doing my best not to annoy them. Their pets sure like me. Of course, all but Suki knows me already. Suki is their new puppy, a Bichon/Dachshund(?) mix. She's very small, but playful and friendly.

Now, while takayla is in Japan, here's what I did over the weekend:
( My busy, busy fun weekend )

Well, thanks to Bruce and Cheryl, I can't seem to enjoy anything without eventually trying to help out. Stupid FanTek mentality...! [but wouldn't have it any other way]

After a year of seeing these girls and NOT seeing them exploited (one of my first fears, remembering the late 1970s here in DC on channel 20 where they were touted like professional wrestlers half the time), I have come to adore the hard working teams that bruise themselves and the volunteers who surround them. I have watched them grow through their struggle. When Triple-D-Licious (I feel funny calling her that, but I figure since the other girls refer to themselves by their derby name, I should to, when discussing Denise in public) told me about their beginnings, she mentioned how hard it was to get people to come at first, and what a shoestring budget these girls operate on.

Let me emphasize this: none of these girls gets paid. A cent. In fact, they have to pay for everything: skates, helmet, bandages, doctor's bills, therapy, teeth, you name it. On top of that, the referees usually pay for ALL of the equipment out of their own pocket. The tape on the floor of the flat track? One of the refs pays for that. He goes to Staples, gets fluorescent tape, and it gets used for one bout, and that's it. One of the Board members for the DCRG told me they will reimburse for items like that, but often no one bothers to give them a receipt or even ask for the money back. The money they make from ticket sales goes towards rental of practice space, promotion, marketing, and... that's about it. And they can barely afford that. One season, they barely had enough money for their postcard-sized fliers. They make money in ticket sales, merchandise, fundraisers, and the girls pay dues, I think. So this is volunteer-run at its strongest points.

( So what's in it for them? )

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way--

-- Sorry! Wrong entry --

( Pot luck, Black Friday, and rollergirls )