Being an author means...

I did a big thing this weekend. It may not seem very big to those outside of my world, but it's very VERY big to me.

But first, some background...

You see, I started playing roller derby in 2007. From the very first time I strapped on my skates (a pair of Carreras I got off of ebay for $35), I was hooked. I wanted to skate ALL THE TIME. And that's pretty much what I did. I skated my way through my last semester of grad school. I skated my way to Boston for my first job, and from the time I joined the Boston Derby Dames in the summer of 2008, I pretty much played as much roller derby as I could. I volunteered for extra games outside of the league, I signed up for every extra travel game I could, and I never EVER missed a home game.

Wicked Pissahs v. Nutcrackers, BDD Hometeam Championships (we won!)

As you can imagine, this is a pretty big chunk of my life. I attend 2-3practices a week, lasting from 2-4 hours depending on if it's a team practice or a scrimmage day. And it's not just skating. As a member of the league's executive board, I have a lot of admin work I do from home, and as the manager of our all-star travel team, The Boston Massacre, I'm pretty much always on email organizing games and dealing with team business. It's like having another part time job, but it's never bothered me because I LOVE IT.

With the Boston Massacre at WFTDA Eastern Regionals, just before we played London

 But now that I work full-time and am on a book 2 schedule that's so aggressive I think it would make Norman Mailer cry, I'm finding that I need to prioritize my life in a way I've never had to before. And so what was that big thing I did?

I withdrew my name from tryouts for the Boston B Party, Boston's traveling B Team.

Skating against Jersey Shore with the B Party (photo by Dezdemona Lott)

What does this mean exactly? I'm still skating for the Wicked Pissahs and managing the Boston Massacre, but I can no longer commit to an extra practice every week and traveling to extra games. And that really sucks. Because B Party games are really fun. But I know myself and what I have on my plate, and right now my priority needs to be working on Book 2. And that's the part that doesn't suck ... knowing my limits, and making a big girl decision that doesn't exceed them.

Holy crap, I'm becoming a grown up. When did that happen?!

Ok, now back to work, so that I can get everything in my office done, so that I can do a final edit on my first two chapters of Book 2 before I send them in (Beth, if you're reading this, it'll be later tonight!)

Book 2, I'm coming for you. (photo by Sergio Keith Abe)