Quick Recap of First Two Bouts

March 2 - HoTRD vs. Green Mountain Derby Dames

HoT vs GMDD.  Photo by Sean Childs

Our first WFTDA sanctioned bout!  Against our great friends from Burlington, VT - the Green Mountain Derby Dames!
I was on the roster for this bout, however I ended up with a late case of the flu (!!!) and ended up having to miss the bout - I couldn't even go and watch.
GMDD is a strong team and was a good challenge for us.  The final score of the bout of 228 GMDD - 110 HoT.


March 23 - HoTRD vs. Roc City Roller Derby

HoTRD vs Roc City.  Photo by Kris Dreessen

This bout took place at RIT college - neat!  This is also where our former skater CrickHit goes to school - so we got to hang out with her that weekend.  She's skating with Roc City's B team... so awesome.  I wish I started derby in college!

Roc City took an early lead and racked up point quickly. The score at halftime was 211 Roc - 55 HoT. After a good peptalk in the locker room from coaching, we refocused and kept the damage minimal. Roc still took the win with a final score Roc 306 - HoT 126, but we were happy with the second half.  Roc also had perhaps the best hospitality ever - their skaters set up a potluck so there was tons of different and delicious food to enjoy after the bout.
Roc City also hosted a St. Baldrick's event that day - Jezibelle N. Hell participated - blog on that coming up soon!

Photos from March 2 bout

Check out some photos from our March 2 season opener against the Green Mountain Derby Dames (Burlington, VT).  I was actually home sick with the flu for this bout - bummer :(

Hellions and Green Mountain lined up to start a jam.
Photo by Sean Childs

Baby Nuclear lined up as the Hellions jammer, sporting a hockey helmet and bandana - intimidating!
Photo by Sean Childs

Check out more photos by Sean Childs on his facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.612504025431435.1073741826.100000155297353

Another photographer, Bob Donlon also took some shots are our bout.  You can view his photos on his smugmug page: http://galleries.bobdonlon.com/Other/Roller-Derby/2013-0302-HellionsOfTroy/

While we didn't win the bout, it was still a good time and a learning experience for the Hellions.  We had a packed house -- a great start to our season!  Thank you to everyone for coming out. 

Lastly, one special thing about this bout: it was our first WFTDA sanctioned bout! When we play other charter teams from WFTDA leagues we are able to be ranked amongst the other WFTDA leagues in the world.  I think we need to play one more ranked bout before we are eligible for rankings.  Anyway, even though we lost, it was really awesome to see our name on the WFTDA website after the bout.
Final score: Green Mountain 228 - HoTRD 110.

My Two Year Bout-aversary

I almost forgot - the bout I played in on May 12 against Rideau Valley was my two year anniversary of my first bout against the Utica Roller Girls (May 8, 2010).  In 2011 I bouted the same weekend (May 14), against Garden State.

November 2009 in Philly for 2009 Champs

I joined the Hellions in September 2009.  The first practice I showed up to was actually at Frear Park... it was right before we moved to Rollarama.  It was also the end of their season, and there were no bouts even scheduled until April 2010...it was 6 months before I could even think about playing in a game.

For those 6 months I trained and learned the game.  I watched a lot of roller derby and really fell in love after attending the 2010 WFTDA Championships in Philadelphia.  We didn't have the formal fresh meat training we have now.  Our league has grown a lot in the past 2.5 years.  Remember when I said we didn't bout for 6 months when I joined? Things somehow changed after that... from April 2010 to November 2011 we had at least one both every single month with the exception of two.  22 bouts and two tournaments in 18 months.)

It's also strange to think I've been the league manager for over a year, having been elected in early 2011 and now serving my second term.  I love being part of this growing league.  We earned our WFTDA Apprenticeship in October 2011 and we're working towards completing the requirements for full WFTDA membership. I will say that's our biggest accomplishment during my tenure with the league. Followed up by our third place finish at Empire Skate Showdown in September 2011.

I have personal goals and goals for the league...but on that subject, I'm not gonna talk about it, I'm gonna be about it.  Here's to another amazing year as a Hellion.

Hellions vs. CT RollerGirls - bout recap

Hellions with a hedgehog at CT in 2011

On Sunday, June 9 we made the trip out to Woodbridge, CT to take on CT RollerGirl's Stepford Stabotage, the league's WFTDA charter league who is ranked #15 in the WFTDA East Region. Last year we played CT's B Team, Yankee Brutals, where we took the win [Deadlie Mercury recapped this trip in this blog post: http://blog.timesunion.com/rollerderby/road-trips-derby-style/4083/]

We knew we would be in for a big challenge against the Sabotage, though. This season, as we play some big name WFTDA leagues, we're hoping to learn and grow as we make our way through the WFTDA Apprentice Program.

What do you do when you step on the track, knowing that this is not a game you're likely to win? Step 1: get excited anyway - it's time to play some roller derby!

Photo by dph photo

Step 2: Work together. I love this picture of Lehman Smothers and Lil' Wheezy holding back the CT jammer.  Lil' Wheezy stepped up from our B team this weekend to fill in on our short roster. She's a terrific team player.

Photo by dph photo

Step 3: jam like the wind!  I thought Kitty had an awesome game on Saturday!  I haven't seen her jam this well in a long time, and it was exhilarating to see her smile and get excited each time she returned to the bench.

Photo by dph photo

Step 4: Derby solidarity, win or lose.

Photo by dph photo

Cupcakes !

Thank you to the CT RollerGirls Stepford Sabotage for the challenging bout!  The final score was Sabotage 260 - Hellions 69.  Congratulations to Lehman Smothers, the MVP of the game!  Also a big shout out to B team players Sick Puppy, Lil Wheezy, and Punch of Grace who filled in our roster. Thanks to Betty, Darla, and Con-tagious for working merch and cheering us on, too!

Ottawa Bout Recap (Part 2)

On Saturday evening of our Ottawa trip we headed to the bout. Although we played the Slaughter Daughters in 2009, there wasn't much we knew about them. Internet research revealed that the Slaughter Daughters were the 2011 Champions of the Canadian roller derby tournament Beast of the East. It also surfaced that two of their skaters, Semi Precious and Soul Rekker, were on Team Canada for the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup.  WHOA.

The Slaughter Daughters are part of Rideau Valley Roller Girls.

Our first few jams seemed to go well, but soon the Slaughter Daughters were able to take advantage of a big power jam. They had really good team work and their jammers were also very smart. It was still fun to play them. We were familiar with a lot of their strategy, but they were very adept at implementing it. I loved watching Knockout block Soul Rekker - they are both so good!  At one point when I was out blocking and KO was jamming, I saw her land a crazy apex jump.

Speaking of, Knockout earned MVP for this bout, along with Semi Precious.

The final score was Slaughter Daughters (Rideau Valley Roller Girls): 241 - Hellions of Troy: 74.

I do want to point out that I was said we didn't sing the national anthems before this bout. I've been to Canada/seen enough international bouts that I know most of the words!  Here is a link to a youtube video of O Canada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwDvF0NtgdU to make up for it.

Check out our off-the-track Ottawa adventures in the blog post: http://hellionsoftroy.blogspot.com/2012/05/roadtrip-to-ottawa-on-canada-part-1.html

Bout Recap: HoTRD vs. the Killah Bees

Hellions vs Killah Bees in 2011.

On Saturday, April 28 we hosted the Killah Bees of Providence Roller Derby.  We first met the Bees last year in one of our only bouts which we suffered a loss in 2011.  It was actually our greatest defeat of 2011 - a final score of Bees 211 - Hellions 59.  They were the first team we faced that consistently employed the strategy of taking a knee at the jammer line.
If implemented properly, this strategy immediately starts jam, releasing the jammers as soon as the refs are able to blow their whistles.

We were excited to host the Bees again to see how we would fair.

The beginning of the game was tough.  The Bees opened up with a huge 24-0 jam.  We didn't score for the first five jams, until Pork Slap took 8 points in jam 6.  We were getting our groove, but by the end of the first period, we were down 62-112.

In the locker room, we talked about their strategy and what we needed to do to react.  We recognized their tactics and discussed counter-strategy. We knew it would take teamwork.

Our refocusing at halftime worked.  We inched up in points.  Five jams into period two, Shockratease had an amazing 25 point power jam, which closed the gap even further.  It was so exciting!  Soon, after a couple strong jams from Pork Slap and Shockratease again, we finally took the lead.  We were so close to sweet victory, but the Bees weren't ready to give up.  A 20 point power jam for the Bees gave them back the lead, and they refused to give it up again.  The last 5 minutes of the bout were very exciting as both teams fought for points.

In the end, the Killah Bees won the bout with a score of 177 Bees - 169 HoT.  Only 8 points!  In roller derby, that's practically a tie!  Not bad after losing to them by over 150 points last year.  It was one of our best games so far this year.  Thank you Bees for the amazing game!

Hellions of Troy vs. Killah Bees 4.28.12

Next home bout: Saturday April 28

Online tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/235369
We played Providence Roller Derby's Killah Bees last March -- and we are ready for a rematch!

And here's something we are excited about: Nanny's Double Dutch League (recently featured on alloveralbany.com) will be joining us for our halftime show!

Hellions of Troy vs Assault City bout recap

This is the first thing I saw in the parking lot when I arrived at Rollarama before the bout on Saturday, March 17:

Hilarious! At that point I knew the girls from Assault City were going to help us have a great time that night.

Hellions warming up!

The Hellions hadn't played Assault City since 2009, but a few of us had been out to their mixed scrimmages in Syracuse. It was tough to know what to expect from this team, besides knowing they were fun girls.  Turns out, they were also tough skaters as well!

At the half, the Hellions were down 59 - 83. We managed to close the gap down to a final score of 160 Assault City to 154 Hellions. We picked it up the 2nd half but fell just a little short. Awesome game against our friends from Syracuse - looking forward to a rematch in July-on their turf this time!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the bout by Hispanic Attack:

Epic Kate-tastrophe going in for the hit - right on the money.

Pork Slap jammin'.  Luci D. Dream calling lead jammer!

Hellions booking it to the front of the pack to stop the jammer.

Oh hi, it's me, Short Temper!




The Hellions take on Assault City again this summer on July 7 in Syracuse.

Recap: Hellions vs. Suburbia Roller Derby

Shockratease wrote an awesome recap of this bout over on the Times Union derby blog so make sure you check it out: http://blog.timesunion.com/rollerderby/hellions-of-troy-take-on-suburban-brawl/5793/

Also check out Suburbia's bout recap: http://suburbiarollerderby.com/news

Long story short, we played Suburbia on February 25 and lost 250-75, but we gained a lot of insight on what we need to work on as we head into our 2012 season. Suburbia Roller Derby is ranked #12 in the WFTDA East Region.

Despite losing, overall we had a really great time down in Yonkers on Saturday.  First of all, check out this awesome welcome basket!

They wrote us a nice welcome note in that tiger card. I put one of the cupcake stickers on my helmet.

We got to the bout a little early, so we hung out in the locker room area and changed our wheels.  Val temp-sewed Trixie's number to a jersey.

Short Temper, Lehman Smothers, and Valerie Valkyrie doing some pre-bout maintenance.

Another awesome thing about the event was that Yonkers is pretty close to a few other leagues, so we had friends come out and cheer for awesome derby that night.  It seemed like half of the Long Island Roller Rebels were sitting behind our bench the first period. I also saw people from Gotham, the Shock Exchange, Hudson Valley, and New Jersey. It was a great crowd - I think the event even sold out.

Thanks for the cheers!
LIRR and Bane-ana watching the derby action.
Photo by Manish Gosalia

Thank you Suburbia for the awesome time this past weekend!

Photo by Manish Gosalia

Short Temper comes out of blogger hibernation

Tuesday was a beautiful, sunny day, and just what I needed to start clearing out my winter blues. It also helps that the Hellions had a bout on Sunday, which sparked my derby brain.

It's been a long winter. A long off season -- although not really.  Our last bout of 2011 was November 5 against the Hudson Valley Horrors...which I neglected to write a recap on.  So here's a quick one:

I was the captain of the team.
We won.
I was chosen MVP.  Yeah!  First time ever!  Here's a couple pictures:

Short Temper, Sweet Madness, and Con-tagious.  This photo makes me so happy and proud.

Hellions of Troy love Hudson Valley Horrors

Santa Speedo Sprint

So, right... the off season. No bouts for the rest of November, December, and most of January. We continued practicing, I attended Championships and the Roller Derby World Cup. The holidays came and went. Some of the Hellions ran the Santa Speedo Sprint in December.

Which more or less brings us up to today. We're gearing up for our 2012 season, which will be announced this Friday. So look for that -- and more from me in general!

MRDA Champs

If you are keeping track at home, you will notice that I traveled to Baltimore three times in the span of a month (August into September) and in October I found myself rolling down 87 thrice for adventures in NYC/Long Island - the Gotham Boot Camp, CDTA vs NYSE, and on October 22 - Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) Championships. The event took place at Skate Safe America (also LIRR's venue) and was hosted by the New York Shock Exchange.

New York Shock Exchange

My second post ever on this blog was about men's roller derby. Since then I've come to appreciate it more and more. I definitely see some differences between the way men and women play, but I like watching both.

MRDA Champs featured six teams from around the United States:
Dallas Deception (Texas)
Magic City (somewhere in Florida)
St. Louis Gatekeeper (Missouri)
Puget Sound (Seattle area)
Pioneer Valley (Western Mass)
New York Shock Exchange.

woohoo, PVRD!

PVRD is my favorite MRDA team. Ever since I saw them last year, I've been all about the mustaches.  I also love the Shock Exchange, cause hell yeah New York! Plus they're all super awesome. Side note: CDTA is obviously my favorite not-yet-MRDA team.


The other four leagues I didn't know much about.  Dallas?  Texas has roller derby, that's cool.  St. Louis? The guys with beards. Also, where the heck is St. Louis? Puget Sound = Quadzilla.  Magic City? wow... those are some ridiculous names on that roster.

So that's what I was working with going into the tournament.

It was a solid event of all-day derby - there were 8 full length men's bout, plus one women's bout in the middle to break things up.  I hung out mostly with the dudes from CDTA and there was also a bunch of people from the Utica Quadfathers there and Central New York players there.

Capital District Trauma Authority
Roarshock, Jonny Malice, Massacre, Wellen Dowd, and Museknuckle

Being the top two ranked teams, St. Louis and NYSE had a first round by. NYSE ended up playing Magic City in the first game, and the score was a lot closer than I expected.

Grambo from CNY volunteering at
MRDA.

Magic City is ridiculous.  I mean that in a mostly good way, although at first I was not sure how I felt about them. Rumor had it that most of their skaters have a background in jam skating. They definitely had some fancy footwork. Overall, NYSE played a tighter game strategy-wise and were able to take the win. Check out the Derby News Network recap here. There's a comment which is a bit critical of NYSE's strategy that won them the game, but heck - that is the way derby is played these days. It's just playing smart based on the rules of the game.  Anyway, the first picture on that article where Magic City (green) is facing reverse direction pretty much sums up the whole game.  It was an exciting game to watch.

PVRD had a tough first game against Puget Sound, who are a powerhouse in the west. After losing to them, they played Dallas Deception, which was a little bit closer.

The best game of the day, in my opinion, was Magic City vs. St. Louis. Two teams I knew little about going into it, but I think this bout exemplified some of the best men's derby has to offer. The two teams were very well matched game and I decided I just really like to watch Magic City skate.
If you watch any videos of the bouts from MRDA Champs, I definitely recommend Magic City vs St. Louis.

These are just my basic impressions from Champs.  If you want some real stats based, unbiased recaps you should check out DNN here, here, here, here, and here.

Bout recap: CDTA vs. NYSE. October 8, 2011

The weekend of Saturday, October 8 I headed down to Long Island with Massacre for the Capital District Trauma Authority's bout against the New York Shock Exchange brand new B-Team: the Dow Jones Average, featuring saucy players such as everybody's favorite Jimmy Rage as well as Bane-Ana-on-Skates, or as Wellen's mom put it, "Oh that 1B player - he's so out of control - he's dangerous!" In only the voice a mother could have when a scruffy lad is beating up on her seven-foot-tall son's teammates.

NYSE took the lead early in the game with a 29 point jam by Starsky. I should back up and state that NYSE, as a League, has been a dominant force in men's derby for years. This bout was to be a learning experience for CDTA. And to be fair, there were a few A (B+?) players on NYSE's roster.

Let me get some numbers out of the way: the final score was 194-91, and Roarshock scored 49 of those points and was voted MVP. All of CDTA's jammers had to fight hard for their points, though - Roarshock, Jonny Malice, and Up End Atom faced solid and disciplined walls from the Dow Jones.

Mark your calendars: upcoming charity bout - October 15

More information is coming soon (believe me, I'll dedicate a whole blog post to it!) but I want to point you all in the direction of the Facebook event for our upcoming Charity Bout on October 15 to get the initial details NOW.

Skate for a Cure: Hellions of Troy Roller Derby Charity Bout 
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161897177231506

This won't be your average roller derby bout. With Hellions on both teams, on the fly rule changes, and every few jams skated by our derby brothers of Capital District Men's Roller Derby - fans are in for a rowdy night of awesome roller derby and charity.  Proceeds from the bout will support breast cancer research and awareness.

Catching up on bout recaps: Hurricanes vs. Earthquakes 8/27/11

So... we were supposed to have an epic game against the Boston Derby Dames Boston B-Party... but then Hurricane Irene decided to ruin our party!  Due to impending weather circumstances, Boston was unable to travel to our location on August 27 ... so we had to make due somehow.  It was too late to cancel the bout. So, in a matter of hours, we pulled together two intraleague teams (with help from 5 other local derby players) and the concept of “Team Hurricane” vs. “Team Earthquake” was born.

Team Hurricane in black; Team Earthquake in pink. Photo by Space Chalky

Me in front of the White House. I ended my
vacation early to make this bout happen.
Kinda...not really. Dumb hurricane.

I wasn't actually rostered to play in the Boston bout, as Massacre and I were on vacation in Washington, DC and Baltimore that week for some baseball and roller derby. However, due to Irene, that weekend's baseball games were cancelled, so we decided to head back up to Albany a day earlier.

"Cool," I thought… "we'll be able to catch the Hellions play tonight!" 

Little did I know we would watch from the track. While I was riding back up to Albany in the car, I communicated with Baby Nuclear, our bout production manager, and Doc Hazard, one of our coaches. They were two people who really made this bout happen! The first phone call began with "we have a situation" and the last simple text message I received about an hour from Rollarama was "I think we're all set! Wear pink!"

The hurricane poured on us the whole ride back up to Albany…until exit 25, for beautiful Schenectady, NY where the sun was actually still shining. A good sign.

With solid rosters for both teams, Doc Hazard bench coached Team Hurricane and Roarshock made his Hellions coaching debut with Team Earthquake. For the most part, Team Hurricane lead in points scored, but the point spread was never too wide. The game ended with a score of 141 Hurricanes - 121 Earthquakes. The hurricanes dominated that weekend.

Delinquent Dollie, Sally Mae Hurtyou, Pork Slap and
Pied Viper. Photo by Space Chalky.

Game MVPs were Delinquent Dollie and Pied Viper (of CNYRD).  Game Heavy Hitter awards went to Sally Mae Hurtyou and Pork Slap!
Special incredible thank you to the local skaters who filled in our rosters at the 11th hour: CNY's Slay West and Pied Viper; and AASRD's Sweet Dee Bacle and Betty Blitzkrieg. Also Trixie Firecracker! <3 <3 <3

Speaking of hurricane domination, surrounding areas suffered major floor damage that weekend. Parts of the Capital District and beyond were under water. A portion of profits from our bout on Saturday, September 24 against Maine Roller Derby as well as food and items donated by our fans was donated to local flood victims.

Capital District Trauma Authority vs. Pioneer Valley's Dirty Dozen

On Monday, September 5 I headed out to Northampton, MA with the Capital District Trauma Authority to catch a Pioneer Valley Roller Derby's mens/womens derby double header. Monday was Labor Day and also the final day of the 3 County Fair. CDTA took on PVRD's Dirty Dozen, while Granite State Roller Derby (New Hampshire) played PVRD's Western Mass Destruction.

I went to the fair and saw the unusual specimens that are men's roller derby players.  Ooh, ahh.

We arrived at the fair early, and noted that the bout would be taking place in hanger/barn-like structure. The floor was literally made of dirt. In the center of the large, wide open building was a layer of ply wood, with skate court laid over it. Always something new with roller derby!

The venue.

We spent some time walking around the fair before the boys went to warm up. I spent time checking out the baby animals and resisting the temptation to eat all fried food in sight.

This rabbit looks like a pivot.  and OMG - baby ducks!

<3

Doc Hazard bench coached for CDTA, so I sat and enjoyed the bout with Luci D. Dream, one of our refs, and Morticia VonGlitzngloss - Hellions skater and CDTA skater Hart Attack's girlfriend. I gotta be honest: the Dirty Dozen may just be my favorite men's derby league. I love the camouflage pants. I love their wily jammers. And Jurasskick Park (# 1993) is the freaking sweetest name ever. [I swear CDTA is a close second and maybe if Jurasskick Park transferred to CDTA that would tip the scale.]  The Dirty Dozen have been a force in men's derby for years, so it was a cool opportunity for CDTA to measure up. No one was expecting a win for CDTA, but the challenge was appreciated.

Massacre on the line vs. Jurasskick Park
I can't think of a comment that won't
get me in trouble.

Very often, although the Dirty Dozen would snag league jammer, CDTA jammers Gohan/Up End Atom, Johnny Malice, and Roarshock were able to break through the pack. It was exciting for me to watch Massacre pivot - he works hard to find a partner, recycle, and go for the hit. Massacre also got to jam a few times.

Hazmatt made his derby debut at this bout. He had a nice three person wall going at one point, and did not look like a total n00b during any part of the game, from what I saw anyway.

Johnny Rebel, Hazmatt, and Wellen Dowd form a nice three person wall.

The final score was PVRD 295 - CDTA 54. After playing one of the top mens teams in the country, congrats to (one of?) the newest in teams in New York on scoring just over 1 every 5 points, and holding PVRD under 300.

Bout Recap: Hellions vs. Maine Roller Derby's Calamity Janes

In front of a house of 300 fans, the Hellions continued their home winning streak on Saturday night coming out on top against Maine Roller Derby. This was a rematch from last summer, when we took a friendly beating (just kidding... kinda) in June 2010 when we traveled up to Portland.

Like I remembered from last year, Maine had heavy hits and played a very focused game. Our coach, Roarshock, commented how tight and organized their girls looked while they were warming up.

This year, for the Hellions, was another story. Coming off our high from our third place win at Empire Skate Showdown earlier this month, we were ready to take on Maine on Saturday.

But first we had a team effort to lay down the track! Setting up for a bout is a team effort.

Taping down the track boundaries before the bout. One layer of tape, one layer of rope, another
layer of tape. Short Temper, Disharmony, and Sick Puppy in the foreground. Photo by Space Chalky.

When we say this is a skater owned and operated league, we mean it!

Each team started off with a few good jams, and the team work on both teams was great. The Hellions began to pull ahead into the first period. At the half the score was 104 Hellions - 40 Maine.

Photo by Zack Zoll

Maine started the second period strong utilizing a one on one strategy, and had a few good jams which initially caught them up in points. The Hellions we able to adapt, but had to continue taking hard hits and face Maine's effective booty-blocking from A-Block and Cherry Clobber, a formidable two person wall. Maine also increased their jammer rotation to include REDdemption, a newer face to Janes - but you couldn't tell based on her determination to get through the pack.

Side note: I actually had the pleasure of meeting REDdemption the weekend before at Eastern Regional Playoffs. I sat with some Maine players and their fans during one bout. They were a super friendly bunch! Maine's all star team, the Port Authorities were the tenth seed last weekend at Playoffs. They faced some tough opponents, but they looked good doing it!

The game ended with a score of 201 Hellions - 109 Maine. Game MVPs were Baby Nuclear for HoTRD and REDdemption for Maine. Game Heavy Hitter Awards were presented to Kitty from HoTRD and Cherry Clobber from Maine.

Photo by Space Chalky

Mathundra Storm with her light saber.
Photo by Space Chalky

The Hellions also got a special treat during half time...!  Ed, the father of our announcer Eloda Sarcasm, present the league with some super awesome LIGHT SABERS as a "trophy" for coming in third place at Empire Skate Showdown.  It was awesome! And so super thoughtful of Ed! Ed is definitely one of the Hellions SUPER FANS.

This bout was cool for me because two of my sister and my mom were able to attend and cheer us on.  My best friends Rachel and Jen from high school where also there!  Ahhhh yay!!  My boss was also there with his wife and son. So awesome.

I got feedback from some people on my team that they think my sister Carol looks like my twin, if I had a twin in the 1980s. What do you think?!  And for the record, those are her natural curls - no fancy perms here.  Should I get a perm?

Carol and me at the after party.
Photo by Space Chalky

OK - that's all she wrote - for now!