Skating Makes Me Squee

I will just begin this blog, I’m not even going to address my lack of blogging. I guess that was me addressing it though! Please don’t think my love of skating has wavered in any way, because it sure hasn’t. It’s more to do with computer access and other such things.

So the new rink has opened in Murrieta, it is called Epic Rollertainment. Let me first say how completely exciting! Most people probably go their whole lives without ever stepping foot into an actual, brand spanking new roller rink. It’s beautiful; brand new wood floor to skate on, the sound system is simply impeccable, and the facility in general is just very new, clean and top notch. They are still working to build their customer base, and it's important for people to go up there and skate.  For me, it's a bit far but I have gone up a few times.  For now (at least), we have other options. The floor is bizarrely shaped; it’s shaped like a swimming pool. It’s not very big either; floor space was taken up in favor of additional seating (there are seats everywhere you look in this place). One positive is that this rink will attract children, which is important for the next generation of skaters. I am a fan of the new rink but my love for Cerritos is unmatched.

Speaking of which. I was so devastated to learn that Skate Depot in Cerritos, CA will close its doors in August of 2014. I am still holding out hope that this is a rumor. Honestly it’s hard to put into words how much it hurt to hear this. I guess I felt like that rink would always be open. Whenever I could, I could drive up there and have a skating experience like no other. I heard that the owners of the strip mall want to get rid of the rink as it doesn’t match the aesthetic of the rest of the strip mall. UTTERLY PATHETIC. This means the good skating will shift to Skate Express in Chino, CA. Even further than Cerritos. It’s all so depressing; people in the Midwest have no idea how good they have it with rinks at their disposal.

But it does mean that the final Back to Cali (tears, so many tears) this May will be more than just off the chain. It will be the skate party to end all skate parties. Of course I won’t miss it. When I first started going to Back to Cali, I thought “I’ll be here 10 years from now”. That certainly won’t be the case. Ugh it’s bumming me out to talk about it.

I fell hard at the rink a few weeks ago. My first time hitting my head since my accident in 2011. And yes I am super careful! I backwards skate very slowly but I was with a partner. He should have been directly behind me but he wasn’t, he tripped over some fallen skaters and we went down, and I felt completely on my head, probably in the same place as my injury. DON’T TRIP – I didn’t black out. We weren’t going very fast. The outpouring of support from the other skaters was touching. My head ached and I was a little fearful going to sleep but it’s all good. Since I did have a Traumatic Brain Injury in the past, any injuries to the same area have their effects on me. The two days following my fall, I had the worst vertigo. Really intense and easy to bring on. But it was just the two days and I’m all okay again.

Happy for skate night tonight. See me on my eights.

Skate Your Life

Hey Blogosphere! How is everyone enjoying their summer? I have been having so much fun on my eights! It’s been a gorgeous, hot summer in San Diego and there is nothing like rolling with the cool summer breeze washing over you.


I know I have been a terrible blogger and I have zero excuses. But I will update you on the relevant skating happenings and do my best and keep up in the coming months.

America’s Got Talent finally called and said thanks but no thanks. Sad face! BUT the silver lining was that they invited us to participate in the filming of the opening sequence for the show. While it may seem like a token compared to being on the show, it was still really nice to be included. They said they wanted colorful, lively acts which is why we were included. We filmed it up in January and let me tell you, THE BEST TIME EVER. We had an absolute ball! The shoot was funny – everyone participating was rejected by the judges either this year or last year. Some people had been called randomly after their YouTube videos were seen. There were showgirls, dancers, punk rockers, can-can girls and then of course us – a groovy disco roller skating couple. Our part of the video was so cool – Nick walks up, lip synching in the camera, and we come in right behind him. Along with everyone else. BUT since we were on wheels, it was no problem getting right ahead of everyone! Perfect! After the shoot, Nick was so gracious taking pictures with everyone. So without further ado, here is the video below. Check me out at the :37 mark on the left hand side of the screen. Yes I am the cutie with the red afro wig and I get about three solid seconds on screen, amazing!

http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/nick-introduces-americas-got-talent-season-8/n37404/

So that is that. In other news, May was Back to Cali, my 4th year going! Such an incredibly rad time, every year it gets a little better. Since my accident in 2011, I keep a cautious distance from the super-fast lane, and at an event like this, it’s even faster than usual. Scary! But so exhilarating at the same time. I was able to skate two of the four nights. The second night was fun but somehow even more packed and of course someone got hurt and we had to wait a good 20 minutes for the ambulance and getting the floor cleaned. That definitely interrupted the flow. But all in all an awesome event and you know I’ll be there next year!

My street skating every Sunday continues. The beach has been getting so incredibly packed, I am parking further and further away. Those beach parking lots are treacherously dirty, full of little things that want to take this skater girl down. So far so good. I stumbled on a rock on the intersection a few weeks ago TERRIFYING. Let me fall on the sidewalk or parking lot please, don’t take me down in the middle of the crosswalk in front of a dozen cars.

So come out and see us do our thing every Sunday at Mission Beach. You won’t regret it. in fact you will probably want to buy a pair of skates and learn how to downtown. It’s what happened to me!

Beginning of Spring Means More Skating

Hey Blog World!  How can it be three months since I did an entry??  I'm like the most remiss blogger ever.  As you all know, I get very busy with my non-skating life, working and being a parent.  But I always find time to roll on my eights, the best feeling in the world.

I do have some good news - me and my team were invited to audition for America's Got Talent once again.  We auditioned in 2011 and yadda yadda yadda, it was a disaster, courtesy of yours truly.  I get some serious stage fright performing in front of judges like that.  Anyway, we certainly didn't expect them to call but they did ask us to come up again.  They gave us a private appointment at a sound stage in Burbank.  We dressed up in our disco costumes and did our thing.  It was much, much better than 2011.  Not perfect but still a fairly strong performance.

We were so pleased to find out we have been placed in the "maybe" pile to audition for the celebrity judges!  How exciting.  I just can imagine the thousands of tapes they said no to, yet we got a maybe.  I definitely think we provide a good dose of different - the amount of singers and dancers on that show is just so boring.  You don't see a roller skating disco act every day, plus of course we're great.  They are going to let us know whether or not they want us before the judges.  The thought of skating in front of Howard Stern in my tiny booty shorts gives me heart palpitations.  But it would be a huge honor and we are hopeful.  Any chance to put roller skating on television is a chance worth taking.

In other  news, I've been skating up a storm.  Been going to plenty of family sessions.  The skate mates that have descended on our rink have come straight from hell.  Are you not familiar?  They are walkers, but for roller skating.  They cost like $5 to rent and once one is rented, every little brat in the place rents one.  They suck to have to avoid at every corner on the floor, and even worse when the kid falls and the skate mate goes flying.  Good times!  Nonetheless, all of this is great practice for me in quickly jumping lanes, darting around slow moving objects and stopping on a dime. 

Skating at the beach has been off the chain.  Spring has only just begun and the beach is just packed.  People adore watching us do our thing!  Nothing like a huge crowd of 30 or 40 people, cheering for us as we finish our routine.  Long live Skate This!

Rollerskatedreams Reporting!

Hey skaters!  I am returning from the dead with a brand new post, how bout that hmmmm??? Yeah I could give you a bunch of excuses but how about no.  How are you doing skaters?  Been getting your roll on?

As the new year approaches, what I would love SOOO much is to buy some new skates.  Man my poor old skates.  Remember when I bought them, 40 posts ago or something in 2010?  I remember the first time I wore them at the rink, I thought these are too heavy for my legs.  Haha memories!  I have such a love for these skates but if you recall, they had a hard life before they got to me.  They lounged in some closet in the midwest for years and years before finding their way to sunny California.  Not to beat a dead horse but these are my Snyders I am talking about.

So once I got the hang of tearing up the wood in these babies, I set about damaging them as is my way.  No not really but yes really.  I am so bad about skate maintenace (new years resolution list forming).  I tend to put them in my trunk and take them out again when I hit the next session.  BAD BAD SKATER.  After the first six months, I took them to the cobbler and he's like WHOA.  What was happening is that my boots are so old, the leather was separating from the ankle up.  The leather was just super old and giving out.  So at that time I paid to have leather sown over the cracks/separations.  I always lift my skates from the plates now, never the boots.  I even bought some leather conditioner but you know I never use that stuff.  Ugh my poor babies. 

Now my tongues never had any sheepskin or other protector on them, so that is where my next problem comes in.  From tying my skates, I got all these really deep, hard grooves in my tongues.  Over the course of a night, the shoelace would begin to make contact with my skin leaving some lovely welts on the front of my ankles.  Not that I would take them in, that would be way too proactive.  No I cut up some of my knee high socks and fold them a few times over the problem area at my ankle.  Problem solved!!

I really do need to get some new skates bcause one of these days these babies will just give out on me.  My buddy has a shoe stretcher and he has stretched my boots for me a couple times. He says "do you have a sentimental attachment to these boots?  If not, buy new boots".  No it ain't sentimental, it's pure laziness!

I will put that on the list - buy new skates.  It takes so long to break skates in, it's quite terrifying to think of going that far back to basics.  I have seen some drop dead gorgeous skates in the Riedell catalog, and they come with a pretty little price tag too - ouch!!!

I will do a better job of updating in 2013.  Just know that I am skating, that I adore skating, that hasn't changed. Computer access, that's something that can change.  Remember friends:  Don't hate, skate!

Rollergirl Rolls On

Hey skate peeps,

I know I haven't updated in forever but I have excuses.  My home PC has gone the way of the dinosaur and there are no repairs on the horizon.  Nonetheless, I have been skating up a storm as usual.  Let me give you an update.

Back to Cali came and went over the weekend of May 27, and was somehow even more incredible than last year.  I had simply the best time.  I truly felt like I got my groove back after all the rough times of 2011.  I jammed in the fast lane with the best of 'em.  The floor was crazy packed, I heard a rumor there were 900 people but I'm not sure the floor can hold that many people.  The only downside were the accidents.  I attended two nights of the four night event and the ambulance came out on three separate occasions for the injured.  Always sad and for me, brings back a lot of memories.  One of the accidents in particular; I heard the whistle blowing and saw the commotion ahead of me and everyone started slowing down.  It was a big guy, easily 300 pounds, lying on his back, out cold.  A small pool of blood gathered under his head.  I clapped my hand over my mouth and got off the floor quick.  We had to wait about 30 minutes for teh ambulance to take him away and then the floor had to be sanitized.  Prayers that he made a recovery.

Beyond the tragic stuff, it was a skate of epic proportions.  Definitely got me wanting to hit up Cerritos on Thursday nights again.  In March, i felt intimidated by the fast moving crowd.  But I have moved past that and am ready to roll as they only can at Skate Depot.

I have been performing all around town in the past few weeks, it's been great!  We performed at the Festival of Arts in North Park, and at the San Diego County Fair a few weeks ago.  We will be performing there again on July 1 at 3:00 pm.  Hit me up if you want details.  Show skating is great but definitely harder.  I know these routines like the back of my hand but I do freeze up a bit when it's show time.  Argh!  My defense against this is practice, practice, practice..and then practice some more.  :)

In backwards skating news, I am getting closer with the backwards rexing crossovers, it's a pretty amazing feeling.  Still scary and still really rely on my teacher when we go into the turn.  Now to master doing it alone.  More trips to Cerritos will help it along.  I wouldn't dare do it alone among the nuts that skate in San Diego.

It's summer, the perfect time to get out and skate to your heart's content.  The main thing to concern yourself with outdoors skating is being a strong skater on one foot.  That way you can step over the cracks and other debris.  There's no need to fear outdoor skating, just step over!

Time to Roll

Hey skaters!  April greetings to you and all that.  Been getting my roll on like a boss.  I've never felt stronger on my eights.  The feeling of racing around the rink with the wind blowing my hair back - I truly think I will never get tired of it.

The weather is starting to heat up in San Diego and it's so perfect for roller skating.  I skated at Mission Beach last weekend, the weather was sensational.  Felt like the middle of July.  It was spring break so the beach was packed.  I couldn't find anywhere to park amongst the millions of other people so I parked a few miles away and skated in to the skate spot.  It was so awesome to flex my street skating muscles and not have anything go wrong.  Using your roller skates as a form of transportation is the best feeling.

I was at Skate Depot on a Thursday a few weeks ago.  The first time since my accident, actually.  Man, I'm rusty!  The crowd felt very intense and intimidating.  But my skating has changed since my accident, and I'm definitely not as much of a risk taker as I was.  I still had an absolute blast and it just makes me want to get back to going monthly so I can get used to it again.

My newest skill I've been working on it backwards crossovers.  It's also good for couples rexing.  It is hard!  But it's exciting to learn something completely new in backwards.  Backwards skating is still frightening for me and I'm very hesitant to do it without a partner.  I am trying to work back to backwards skating alone again, but the crowd is so sketchy in San Diego.

Looking forward to rolling hard all this summer.  Definitely want to do more street skating, that was such a rush.  Roller skating, the forgotten form of transportation.

I Am Right Here, Skating Beside You

Ugh I am like the most remiss blogger ever!  I cannot believe I missed an entire month of posting for the first time since I started this blog in 2009.  Oh well, what can I do.  Hello blog world!  It's not that I haven't been writing because I haven't been skating, not at all.  I have been doing my thing.  I have been skating as much as possible.  Every Adult Night without fail, of course.  That would kill me to miss a Tuesday.  I've been having a pretty damn good time.

I fell about three weeks ago.  Of course since I have such a major fall under my belt, everything else just pales in comparison.  I was skating in a tight pack and when we went into the turn, this guy kicked my wheel and I went straight down.  It was so fast.  I somehow managed to beat up the side of my hip/leg, maybe I was in the middle of a crossover.  Anyway, it was instant all-consuming take-your-breath-away pain.  The guy was fine and wanted to skate off but I made him walk me to the bench.  Wtf man, where is the chivalry.  My poor leg was hurting so bad.  I took a few minutes to shake it off and then got back on the floor cautiously.  But after 30 minutes, my leg was just throbbing and I had to go.  I had an epic bruise lol, I felt very derby.  Now three weeks later it looks much better than the gray/purple/green/blue/pink loveliness I had going on there for a minute.

I have been making some tiny inroads with my backwards.  Up in Cerritos, I have skated the all ladies backwards a couple times.  I'm more confident up there, plus it's not many people when it's only the women on the floor.  I am very cautious though, I keep my speed way down and focus on staying in the moment of what exactly I am doing with my feet.  It's very easy to zone out because the steps feel so natural.  I have also been learning backwards crossovers, something I have never really known how to do.  It's hard and challenging but exciting when I see improvement.

Carey Grant and the lovely Marilyn Monroe get their couple skate on

Been skating at the Bay on Sundays; it's still considered winter right now in San Diego so the weather has been difficult.  Sun but icy cold wind.  I brave it for the most part, unless it's too gray out.  Hoping for blue skies this weekend.

In other news, Back to Cali is coming up Memorial Day weekend at Skate Depot in Cerritos.  As you know since you have been reading my blog since the very beginning, it is the premier skating event in Southern California.  This year I am aiming to attend all three nights so I can soak up every little bit.

Happy 2012 from Sara Skates!

Happy holidays my readers!  I hope the holiday season is treating you well.  It can be stressful, and also limits skating opportunities <-- dislike  I have been getting it in wherever I can.  I think I told you I've been going to Skate Depot on a more regular basis, it's been incredible.  Saturday is much more mellow than Thursday but it's what I can attend so I am used to it now.  The crowd is getting to know me and I've had lots of new partners, which is so exciting.  To me it's more about being accepted up there than the act of couple skating.   The music can be frustrating because it's so much slower than San Diego.  But I have found ways to skate to it that work for me.  Side Note:  Check out this awesome image circa 1937

Backwards couple skating in Cerritos has been a trip.  That is very different from the way guys skate down here.  Plus backwards skating is a big hot button for me right now anyway.  I am nervous from the minute I get asked to backwards skate until it's over.  But I have to do it, can't look like a chicken.  Sometimes my nervousness gives my partner the jitters, just because I'm so jumpy.  I focus on doing my step and a lot of the guys up there do all sorts of fancy stuff behind me, not sure exactly what they're doing.  But I've always been taught to keep doing the step, no matter what.  That's what I do.  All while trying to relax hahaha.  The way we couple skate is not unlike the picture below.

I skated at Skate World for family night this past Friday and it was a mess.  I think I've been going to Cerritos too much.  I couldn't stand the music, it was just painful.  It seemed like all they played was Kesha and LMFAO, no joke.  I know it's for the kids but that crap is hard to skate to.  I was hungry for a super slow Cerritos jam.  Plus the kids, I am not used to skating with them anymore.  I used to skate with them all the time back in the day when I was coming up.  Now I only attend Adult sessions.  Man they were just all over the place, going the wrong direction, cutting across the middle of the floor suddenly.  I found that super annoying.  I could only tolerate two hours and I know I didn't get a proper sweat on.  I just couldn't really go at my top speed with those nutty kids everywhere.

Trying so hard to get up to Cerritos to ring the new year in.  I want to so bad!  Hopefully I can get my ride situation worked out.  It will be such a disappointment if I'm not on my eights when the ball drops.  Working it, I can make it happen.  I hope you have a nice farewell to 2011.  2012 is going to be off the chain.  Thanks to all my faithful readers for the past three years.   Check out this roller girl, I've come so far!  The best is yet to come.  ♥

In Love with my Eights

Hello out there in the blog world!  I am absolutely thrilled to be writing a regular old blog post.  No more off topic entries or horror stories about my injuries.  In short, I took two months off following my accident in September.  It sucked, I hated not skating.  But I was messed up and needed the break.  Now I am finally working again and yes, skating again.  People close to me are alarmed and concerned.  My doctor's advice was to "please, please never roller skate again".  Sigh.  Where's the sense of adventure?  I am so passionate about skating, there's no way I can stop.  Sorry, worrywarts.

It's hard to describe just how great it is to skate again.  I guess it's because of the forced break, it's made me appreciate it so much more.  Feels JUST AMAZING.  The first few weeks were understandably shaky.  I definitely have lost some of my confidence.  But it's not scary - what is scary is backwards skating since that's how I got hurt.  Session skating and roller dancing, I haven't hurt myself doing those things so I have no fear.  But after the initial few weeks, my confidence is back where it was and I feel like a million bucks when I'm on my wheels.

As for backwards, I am really afraid of it.  In some ways, I just want to forget how to do  it so I can relearn the skill.  Obviously I was doing something wrong.  My friends want to help me.  I have done some very, very slow and careful stuff.  What I have done is backwards couple skating, lots of that.  It may sound silly but I feel safer with a partner. If I were to fall back, I would land on them.  Of course I only skate with highly competent skaters that know how to make sure we don't fall.  We haven't.  Just doing the couples skating has made me feel better about backwards altogether.  I know I will do it by myself again one day. It's just too soon right now.

I've been going to Adult Night at Skate World, of course, but what's even better is I've been able to get up to Cerritos almost on a regular basis!  It's so completely awesome.  Fingers crossed that my ride stays solid.  I've started doing downtown with the skaters up there and they are welcoming me with open arms.  I love it.  They do the same roller dancing we do but with different names and slightly different moves.  It's a trip.  I go up there and pick up new steps and then I show my crew when I come back home.

That's about it, and of course skating at the Bay every weekend.  Been doing a lot more teaching there, I like it.  We are always trying to recruit new skaters to learn roller dancing. It's a dying art!  You know you want to learn.  Hit me up.

Me and my buddy, Paul, getting our Halloween roll on

Interview with Skate Lisa

Hi out there, I know I have been quiet but I am busy recuperating.  It's almost been two months so I am totally getting there!  In the meantime, enjoy a piece about one of my very favorite skaters, Skate Lisa. :)


Skate Lisa.  You may have heard about this dynamic quad skater, seen her videos on youtube, or even had the pleasure of skating with her at Venice Beach (she's only been skating there for over a decade).  Everyone should know more about Lisa, so this blogger asked her to take a few minutes out of her busy day and answer some questions.  She was completely gracious, willing and helpful.


Sara Skates:  Talk about your earliest roller skating memory.
Skate Lisa:  My earliest memory was opening my first pair of roller skates on my 10th Birthday, I had the biggest smile on my face, it was like magic shoes.


SS:  I am so excited to interview a pro like yourself.
SL:  I don't consider myself a pro, I just worked very hard for years and got noticed by TV producers etc., Riedell spotted me all over Europe, America, etc. and decided to sponser me, to which I am eternally grateful.

SS:  I know you're from London, is that where you live?

SL:  I am on the road quite a lot but not normally for months at a time.  London is my home but my heart admittedly is in California as I lived there for several years.

SS:  Talk about a day in the life of Skate Lisa.

SL:  A day in the life of me involves training at the gym, checking all my emails, and I quite often stretch and skate a bit at home too.  I always make time to visit my parents who have been wonderful in supporting what I do. 

SS:  Are there any skate moves you don't know how to do?

SL:  I am always up for learning new stuff. You will quite often see me at Rinks alone practicing new moves.

SS:  What is your diet like?

SL:  My diet is clean most of the time, lots of fish, rice, protein, vegetables -CHOCOLATE sometimes lol

SS:  What is your greatest accomplishment thus far?

SL:  My greatest accomplishment to date is having skated in so many different places and met so many different people.

SS:  Do you have a motto you live by?

SL:  BE A FIRST RATE VERSION OF YOURSELF AND NOT A SECOND RATE VERSION OF SOMEONE ELSE!!

SS:  It was such an honor to meet you and get a little insight into who you are. Do you have any last words you want to leave my readers with?

SL:  So many girls are scared to let go and be themselves, I have been told that this is what makes me stand out as a skater.  When I was 10 years old, I never dreamt of doing what I do now, but something inside always pushed me. GO FOR IT GIRLS!

Big thanks to Skate Lisa for allowing me this interview.  Can't wait to see her again soon in Cerritos or down here at the beach. 

I Got Hurt

Hi blog world, it's with a heavy heart that I write this post.  I have not been able to update my blog because I suffered a brain injury roller skating on September 6, 2011.  First off, don't be freaked out.  If I wasn't okay, I wouldn't be writing this post.  I did get hurt but I don't want anyone thinking extreme stuff.  Let's face it, you can get yourself killed roller skating.  And walking outside, and riding in a car, etc.  So with that disclaimer, my story.  September 6 was Adult Night and it was a great, fun night.  I remember lots of awesome moments.  Nero was there and we did plenty of couple skating.  9:30 is the normal time for the beginners backwards special.  I remember going out.  They were playing "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers.  I was doing my usual backwards step, I went around a few times.

Then the worst happened.  I took a normal step back and somehow completely lost my balance.  It's hard to describe because I don't really know what happened.  I fell back and basically landed completely on my head.  My skates somehow flew from under me.  I didn't hit my butt, my elbows, not any other part but my poor head.  I completely blacked out.  Friends have described the sickening sound of my skull hitting the wood as being difficult to erase from memory. The next thing I remember is being on my stomach, looking at the lines painted on the rink floor.  My glasses were off.  One of my best friends, Wonder Boy, was laying next to me, trying to get me to wake up.  He helped me to my feet.  My head was in terrible pain and there was blood on the floor. It was obvious I needed medical help.  I felt completely disoriented and confused.

The next few days after that pass in a blur.  I was admitted to the ICU at the hospital.  I had fractured my skull and had bleeding on one of my frontal lobes from the jarring to my brain.  Although I had cracked my head open, the crack was not deep and I luckily did not need stitches.  If they had done stitches, they would have shaved my lovely blond tresses.  Thank goodness for small things.

Anyway, it's been 12 days sicne the injury.  I feel a little better each day.  I'm eager to skate and also completely terrified.  I really can't believe I got hurt like this, this is not a usual roller skating injury.  It's fairly common to hear of broken wrists, bruised tailbones.  Normally if I was backwards skating and I felt like I was losing my balance, I would turn around.  I would take a step back.  Why I didn't, I will never know.

I sure as hell am not quitting skating.  But I have to take my time getting back into it.  Obviously I have a new found fear for when I'm skating.  Never worried about cracking my head open before!  Imagine if I was at a rink with a concrete floor. Shudder.  But I do need to make sure I'm good before I go back.  The biggest side effect for me is dizzy spells.  I also have completely lost my sense of smell and taste.  Absolutely bizarre.  I taste absolutely nothing, I have no clue if I have bad breath, I don't know if the fruit is ripe or not.  I can't even taste bacon for pete's sake.  The doctor said to give that a year to return.  Brain injuries are no joke.

So the blog will continue, but not as often.  And I can't do the pretty pictures right now, I'm sorry.  My home pc is kinda janky.  I will still be skating, I will get back to the level I was at and beyond that.  I can't wait to get to Cerritos.  But I have other things I must consider, like my job and family.  Yes I have a real job that I'm not able to go to right now.  And I have a family that means more to me than anything in this world.  I never really thought a three hour session at the rink could end with me in the hospital, or worse.  Definitely a new perspective.

I love you guys and thank you always for your support.  You'll hear from me again very soon.

Skate Love

Good morning out there in the blogosphere!  I have a bunch of news to report so I will get down to it.  First off, I was up in Skate Depot a couple weeks ago as I had told you.  Oh man, it was just so wonderful.  I know I say that everytime but I can't help it, it seems like it's better each time I go.  Anyway, I went up with Nero and we worked a lot on our couple skating.  Yeah we are totally doing awesome, we didn't fall the whole night and we are perfectly synchronized.  It's awesome.  Now we are doing a lot of backwards couple skating, it's super exciting.  But beyond that, with my solo skating, I just had so much fun.  There is a different calibre of skating expertise up there and it feels amazing to keep up.

In other news, we had a roller skating celebrity visit Skate This at the Bay a few weeks ago.  Skate Lisa appeared out of no where and showed us her awesome moves!  It was pretty awesome.  She is something else.  She's like this little tiny lady but she has mad swag.  Totally amazing jam skate moves which she puts her own twist on.  She was very down to earth and took a bunch of pictures with us.  Apparently she travels all around the world for Riedell, promoting roller skating.  She had these crazy skates on that she said cost $1000!  Nuts.  Anyway, I am very excited to annouce that she has granted me an interview for this blog!  Is that cool or what.  I am super excited.  I'm interviewing her next week so stay tuned for a great piece on Skate Lisa!

I did a roller skating photo shoot with Edwin Real.  I wanted to have pictures of me skating since I am so passionate about it and it means so much to me.  It's such a big part of my life and I don't even have any evidence of it, except for the videos that I did recently.  So we did that last week and let me tell you, the pics came out great!  He did an amazing job.  I will be honest - I didn't take a lot of chances during the photo shoot because I had a grip of people watching me and I seriously did not want to fall.  But he still got some really nice shots of me.  The reaction to the photos has been really heartwarming, sort of like a new rush of support from my friends and family.  <3

Exciting stuff going on with the blog!  I really appreciate any one that takes a minute out of their day to read my ramblings.  Pretty cool.

Photo Credits:  Miss Magnolia and Sushinadi

See Sara Skate!

Hello out there in the skating world!  I have been having the absolute best time skating.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I can't help it.  Roller skating is too awesome! I have some new skating adventures to report on.

I skated up in Cerritos last week.  I went up with Nero so it gave the two of us lots of opportunities to practice our couples skating.  We did a fantastic job and neither of us fell the whole night.  We did a bunch of backwards couple skating, which was really exciting because I have only done that a couple times before.  Once we established the steps, we were golden and our steps were perfectly synchronized. Being up there at that rink, the music and people were as incredible as ever.  I saw tons of awesome skating.  I was really in the zone the whole night, and my confidence was way up.  I skated over in the fast lane a good amount of the time and held my own.  Some of my friends that do downtown were also up there and it was super fun to do routines in the middle.  We got a lot of kudos.

After doing this blog for more than a year, I actually have some video of me skating.  Now calm down, because it's not like a proper skating vid or anything.  But Paul and I did make some instructional videos to teach downtown, and this is them.  Shooting the video was a good time.  It was a gorgeous sunny day.  I wish I hadn't been chewing gum, but I can fix that next time around.  I was honored that Paul asked me to do the videos with him.

Roller Dance Instruction #1

Roller Dance Instruction #2

Adult Night at Skate World has been great, as usual.  No place like home.  Last night the power went out in the middle of the session.  What a trip!  Absolute darkness.  Luckily no one got hurt as it was towards the end of the session.  I was in the middle of the rink with Paul doing routines so I did hold on to him for dear life for a split second haha.  But of course your eyes adjust after a sec.  And everyone in that place had their cell phone to use as a flashlight.  Then they told us to leave and the excitement was over.  But a memorable night for sure.

I'm going back to Cerritos in a couple weeks *excited* can't wait to do it again.

Photo Credit to Fashion Edit

Eight Wheels of Happiness

Happy weekend out there in the blogosphere!  It's a gorgeous, sunny day in southern California and I can't wait to get out and skate in it.  I have been having such a blast skating lately.  Not to say it isn't always good, I've just really been in my zone in the past week or two.  I skated up in Cerritos last week, and..drum roll please....I didn't fall!  Woo hoo, yeah me! Thank God.  That fall last time was awful.   Anyway, it was a great Adult Night.  The DJ was playing slow music pretty much the whole night.  He seemed like he was in a romantic mood.  I had to make the most of it, even though I prefer more upbeat stuff.   The crowd was awesome, as always, perfectly in time with the music and grooving all night.

I skated the Trios special with a couple of my friends, and it was pretty damn terrifying lol.  It is only my second time doing it.  There were lots and lots of people on the floor and being in the middle of the trio, it really feels like you are going to completely whack into the people you are coming up on.  It's a bit hard to explain.  But up in Cerritos, all the specials are for three songs and that felt like an eternity when I was out there skating the trios.  I was so ready to quit after one song, but I hung in there.  It's terrifying but also very exciting.  I would definitely do it again. And check out this awesome 1922 postcard I found online.  This is exactly how trios are done!

I recently learned this new backwards step, it took me FOREVER to master it but finally, I have! Such a good feeling.  Everyone knows how to do it and it's so awesome to be able to join the others and follow the step correctly.  We always do this step to that song "Forget Me Nots" and they play that at the rink every week.  I also learned how to do the cha cha recently, another type of skating line dance.  It's so cool!

I've been watching some roller skating movies lately.  I watched Hell on Wheels, which was a very good roller derby documentary.  Most roller skating movies out there are about roller derby, but I did watch Xanadu.  I hadn't seen it since I was a kid.  Pretty dated but I liked the skating.  I watched a ridiculous movie called Kansas City Bomber, starring Raquel Welch as the Bomber!  Very 70's and silly.

I'm going to Cerritos twice in August, it's so awesome!  I can't wait.  Until then, see you at Skate World.

(Photo Credits to Style Me Pretty and Foxy's Antiques )

Hello Summer

Hello out there in the blog world! It's a hot sunny day in San Diego and I am behind on my blog, as usual.  I'm a very busy girl so please bear with me.  I am home from my trip to Vegas last week.  Man that stuff goes so fast!  I shouldn't complain about the 85 degree heat here since it was a cool 115 in Vegas.  Vegas was awesome, I had such a great time.  I did all sorts of non-skating things so I won't go into that.  I was so tempted to put on my skates and skate the Strip and at the same time, not tempted at all.  The hordes out there were pretty frightening and I would imagine that it is illegal to rollerskate on the Strip.  But a girl can dream.

I did hit Adult Night at Crystal Palace on Sunday.  Their Adult Night is strange because they have an all day session on Sundays from 10-10 or something like that.  They just stick the Adult Night at the end, from 7-10.  So the kids can stay, which is annoying.  There were some tiny kids there and yes, they could skate but not good like the adults.  The music was hitting it but the crowd was tiny.  It was the night before the 4th of July so it may not always be like that.  I made the best of it and saw many of the same regulars as previous trips.  I saw some very cool shuffle skating going on and of course I did my downtown thing.  San Diego style, yo.

It's so hot now in San Diego, it couldn't be more perfect weather for skating at the beach.  Love it!  The awesome thing is that I just got my boy some roller skates of his own so I really want to help him get his skating legs this summer.  As a small child, being able to roller skate well brings you so much clout.  I know he will like it more once he gets better at it, plus skating at the beach will probably be more fun for him than being at the rink.  I will bargain with him - one hour of skating equals one hour of sand play.

Cerritos next week, baby!  I am so excited already.  I cannot wait to roll up there!  It's going to be the bomb.  I haven't been to Cerritos for over a month and all my injuries have healed.  I am ready to get re- injured lol!  Every time I skate up there, I pick up a little something else.  So here's to picking up a little something else.  Now put on some skates and get your roll on out there!  It's a great way to stay cool.

Skate, Don't Hate

Hey Skate Team! How is everyone doing?  Happy Start of Summer!  I am so happy the summer is finally here.  Lots of opportunities to skate outside and enjoy the sunshine.  Went to the rink last night for Adult Night. It was quite dead, looks like that is going to be a trend for the summer.  Who wouldn't want to hang out inside a boiling hot building, skating as fast as possible?  Yeah I guess I didn't mention that the rink is not air conditioned.  I know, it seems like medieval times or something.  In Cerritos, the rink is air conditioned.  Sometimes I need a jacket when I'm warming up, it's downright cold on the floor!  Once you get all hot and sweaty though, how wonderful to feel that icy cold air on your face.  Anyway, I digress.  The rink was dead which means super fast hardcore skating, utter exhaustion by 9:00 pm (rink closes at 10:30).  When there are more people, you have to be more cautious so it causes you to skate slower. Man this dead rink is tearing me up!

I have been feeling a little stagnant lately.  Need to mix it up a bit.  I still love doing all my regular stuff like downtown and all, I just want to go to the next level.  I am back watching my how to videos again.  Lately I have been trying to learn to spin.  The only spin I know how to do is a downtown spin, which doesn't even really count as a spin.  You seem some skaters doing some amazing spins, 10 times around.  I am just trying to do one spin and stop.  Then I will go on from there.  I am working on the heel toe spin at the moment.  I am also trying to skate more on my front wheels.  All these things are challenging so it's much easier to fall back into my regular movements.  Have to keep pushing for constant improvement.

My birthday is coming up in a couple weeks.  Man I just keep getting older.  But with my skating, I honestly feel younger than I have in years.  So happy birthday to me, bitches!!

For my birthday, I am going to Vegas.  Yeah baby!  So excited.  I am going to skate at Crystal Palace on July 3 for their Adult Night, hopefully they will have a 4th of July special skate.  I am looking forward to luxuriating at the hotel, lounging in the pool, getting drunk on cheap drinks, kicking ass on the slots, and not sleeping.  That's the plan!

You Ain't Ready for Cali

Hi friends! How is the beginning of summer treating you? Couldn't be better over here.  I have many skating adventures to report on so let's get down to brass tacks.  Last week was the awesome, incredible and impossible to forget Back to Cali Skate Jam at Skate Depot.  Where do I start to describe an event like this one?  Although I went last year, since then my skating has grown in leaps and bounds so it was a completely different experience.

I had heard that there were supposed to be 300-400 skaters in attendance for each night of the four night event, but STILL! Being out there is so different from reading about it.  This year I went on Thursday and Saturday.  Thursday being the kick off, it was quite crowded.  The music was off the hook.  Once I got out in the crowd and started grooving with them, I felt like a million bucks.  Correction: a million petrified bucks.  No matter how many times I have skated in Cerritos, doing Back to Cali is on another level all to itself.  The floor is just so packed, but everyone is respectful of everyone else's space.  But when a fall happens, it truly is scary because three or four skaters inevitably end up tripping on the fallen ones.  I had a guy bump into me from behind and felt myself begin falling back.  OH MY GOD! There were some terrifying seconds there, and then he grabbed me and I got my balance back.  Phew.

My blood was pumping so hard after that near miss.  I was shaking all over!  And although I perfected getting off the floor last year, it was like being a beginner all over again up there.  I was too scared to get off the floor!  Haven't felt that in a long time.  So no choice but to hang in until they call for a special and the floor clears.  Back to skating with my heart in my throat.  This guy runs into me and it looks so grim - I'm flailing all over the place, falling forward.  I really thought I was going down, but he (rightfully) grabbed me and I managed to not fall.  I grabbed on to his arm and sweater so hard that I partially bent one of my fingernails back.  Ouch!  But not too bad if that's the only injury you take home from Cerritos.

They called for Trios (I described these on my very first trip to Cerritos back in February 2010 awwwww) and this is my cue to get off the floor, but a couple of my buddies talked me into doing it with them.  Wow.  I thought I was terrified before.  For a special event like this, there are dozens of skaters that can skate trios, so it wasn't like the floor was empty or anything.  There has to be 15 groups on the floor, and some had as many as seven skaters.  We mostly did this thing where we linked our arms together, and I was in the middle getting pulled back and forth like crazy.  We also tried holding hands and going in circles, which involves a lot of a backwards/forwards skating.  Much scarier.  Plus I felt like one of them was going to break my wrist.  So we went back to the other way.  I was so frightened but I felt like I grew as a skater in those moments.  I'm proud of myself for conquering trios. 

Thursday was so incredible that I decided to go back up for Saturday as well.  Also crazy packed, with people pouring in by the minute.  I felt empowered from my successful Thursday night, and hit the wood hard.  Feels so good to roll with folks like that, true skaters getting their roll on.  Man I would love to go every week!  There were many different times where a skater would put their arm around me to let me know they were passing me, or take my  hand to pass in front of me.  So natural.  I wasn't able to escape unscathed, however.  I ended up falling on my ass a few hours in.  Really don't know what happened, these falls tend to happen so quickly.  I found myself on the ground, that much I knew.  In the fast lane.  I got up in a crouch position in about two seconds and a friend helped me away.  But man my butt is still sore 10 days later. [Side note: my subject line is taken from one of the comments the DJ would often make as we were skating around "Ya'll can't handle Cali" "You ain't ready for Cali" it was hilarious!)

Simply cannot wait until my next Cerritos trip.  Unfortunately I don't have one on the books right now as my birthday is coming up next month.  I'll be heading to Vegas to skate at Crystal Palace, woo  hoo!  Looking forward to that.  Should be able to hit a rink or two on the way over as well.  Yeah baby, skating road trip!!!

Odds and Ends

Hi Skate Fam, today is Tuesday and it’s simply my favorite day of the week! Adult night tonight, I just can’t wait! This week is even better because I am going to Skate Depot on Thursday WHAT WHAT yeah that’s right. I can’t believe it’s been a month already. I keep having flashbacks to when I was there last. Such a blast until…it wasn’t. Falls really sucks for me because they haunt me for awhile afterwards. I get all gun-shy and afraid to take risks. It’s been four weeks though and I’ve skated many times in between.


I still have my injury. One of my derby friends told me she waits two weeks for every injury she gets, and then she goes to the doctor. It’s been four weeks for me. I feel like I should probably wait it out, then I’ll pull my arm in some weird way that is so painful. Still waiting it out. I never really thought I could get so hurt at skating, I guess I am learning my lesson.

I’ve been doing all this couple skating, which is awesome, but the step gets boring after awhile. One of the most fun things about going to Cerritos is checking out other couples and the steps they take. I have been learning one new step called the shuffle. Fun but hard. One leg always weaker than the other. I have also been trying to do better about skating on my toes. It’s the sort of thing you are supposed to learn when you first start skating, but I did not listen to my teachers. So now here I am two years later, not having much skills with skating on my toes. Funny how that stuff comes back around.

I have been advised to take smaller steps when I’m skating and doing cross overs. Ha, easier said than done! It really is scary to bring your skates closer together. Plus I have learned habits with the way I take my steps. I don’t even really know how to pick up my speed unless I am in my usual stance. Everyone says I have to unlearn my bad habits. Um okay, working on that.

With my backwards skating, I have my all consuming fear of turning around. It’s so ridiculous but I must get over it. When I hear the music getting towards the end of the song, I’m already dreading the turn around that’s coming. At the rink on Saturday, I worked on turning around over and over. I felt like I made a little headway. The fast backward skaters, you should see how effortlessly they turn around at top speed. I want to get their.

On a completely unrelated note, how awesome are my pictures for today’s blog?  Check out Olivia!  Funny that they redacted her name from the cover.  The internet is amazing in that it continues to yield good images, some two years later. Keep calm and skate on, skaters.

The Harder They Come...

Hello skate fans! I hope this greeting finds you well. I have been a very remiss blogger. Sometimes life gets in the way, but of course there is always time for skating.


I went up to Cerritos a little over a week ago. I did not eagerly go to my computer afterwards for one main reason – I fell again. Part of me says “why do I keep falling all of the sudden? I thought I was doing better in my skating!” Ultimately my falls have been related to the falls of other people, so I don’t think it’s a reflection on my skating skills at all. Also, I now skate at a much higher speed, so when the fall occurs, I have a lot more inertia to send me flying and falling much harder.

Still, it was a bummer of a fall. My first mistake was I cut to the left to avoid some slower skaters. To the right is always, always, ALWAYS the safest. I cut left and these two old guys (yes they were very old, at least 60 if not 70) fell directly in front of me. I saw it coming and cut even further left to avoid them. It totally looked like I was in the clear, and then one of the old guys flung his arm out in my path as he completed his fall. All of this happens in the span of a second. I tried to step over but I was going much too fast. I rolled over his arm, which I’m sure felt great, and it took me down. I went flying, face first. Came down first on my right elbow – yes the same elbow injured only one week earlier – followed by smacking both knees, and then I flopped down on my belly. Yes I cleaned the rink floor for a few feet. I immediately curled up in a ball to avoid the people behind me but they skated expertly around me. Then one of my friends came and helped me up. My body was aching.

That really took a lot of joy out of my night. Injuries always suck. I didn’t even clean my skates on their fancy skate cleaning machine, or buy new nuts like I was supposed to. I didn’t even do any backwards skating. Sigh. But still, before that happened, I was having such an amazing time. Nero didn’t go, which rocked my world. I felt so disappointed, I had to give myself a pep talk and remind myself I came to skate – period. Not with anyone, not any certain way, not with any certain music. The point is to skate. After that, I was good. I was jamming along with the crowd and staying in the far right lane. My new wheels were complete love on that floor.

My best defense against all this falling is: 1. Fall better, and 2. Learn how to jump. I skated with one of my teachers on Tuesday and he was all over my “bad” form. He wants me to bend my knees practically to the ground (I’m a short girl as it is) and pull one skate clear around to the other side of the other skate. The way he does. Ugh time for more at home practice. Skate on, dear friends.