Each year, my life gets into hyperdrive at the beginning of the year. It starts with the Road to WrestleMania, and as soon as WrestleMania wraps, I shift my attention to the National Hockey League for its Stanley Cup Playoffs. My favorite sports team is the Montreal Canadiens, but I have been wanting the Stanley Cup back in Canada for so long that I will cheer any Canadian team. This year, I have two hereos: Montreal and the Vancouver Canucks.
I'll admit Montreal is a long-shot. They outperformed their greatest supporters expectations last year by eliminating the #1-seed Washington Capitals in the first round, then eliminating the defending champions Pittsburgh Penguins, before getting eliminated by the #7-seed Philadelphia Flyers when they were seven wins away from the Stanley Cup (by far the closest they've gotten to the Cup since hoisting it in 1993).
Conversely, the Vancouver Canucks finished the regular season ranked first. And not just ranked first as the President's Cup winner, but they were ranked in the top three finishers of Goals Scored, Goals Allowed, Power Play, and Penalty Kill. They are wrapped up tight like the total package, and they may be Canada's best shot to win the Stanley Cup for the past many years (including recent years when Canadian teams made it to the finals).
Stanley Cup turns all things hockey up a notch. The stakes are higher, the games are more competitive, and Stanley Cup fever becomes very infectious!
As of this morning, all eight series in the opening round are two games deep. The results have been interesting. Canucks, Habs, Capitals, and Red Wings won both games, and Sharks/Kings, Ducks/Preds, Flyers/Sabres, and Pens/Bolts split their series.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Busy Is the New Norm.
It may seem as though no entries in March would imply that not much happened in the month. In this case, it is the opposite as so much happened that I was unable to update my blog until April 16th.
It started when my computer died. It just wouldn't turn on one day. It didn't take long to adjust to life without Internet for me, surprisingly. Obviously, I didn't quit cold turkey as I had access to most of the Internet at work, but in terms of casual posting, well, that suffered a bit.
Luckily, it turned out that it was just my starter (or power supply, in computers) and my best friend hooked me up with someone she knows who managed to fix it at minimal expense. More than I can say for my friend's car I bought off her. It seemed like a better idea at the time than it really was, but it is in need of repairs, although it seems to be workable. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know since I haven't stayed on top of it.
Most importantly, my friend Amy was moving back home to Illinois to buy a house. This was a move of 1600 miles, but in theory, it was no different than the drive out here back in 2007. Unfortunately, her rental truck rode a little higher than we expected, and her 10-year-old, 105-pound dog was unable to get himself up the narrow, high steps (much less down) several times a day, so hours before her departure, it became apparent that the easiest resolution to her situation was for me to drive her dog across country since my car rides only about a foot off the ground (much easier than the 3 feet of her rental truck).
Therefore, I spent the middle of March driving 3200 miles to Galesburg, Illinois, and back. My friend wisely had planned out a very easy route, so the first day was an 8-hour drive, then next two days were 6-hour drives, and the last day was a 4-hour drive to Galesburg (I turned back around and drove to Tulsa, so it was a 10-hour drive that day, then another 16-hour drive back home the next day).
Lucky for me, the second night's stay was in Oklahoma City where I was able to reconnect with my best friend and meet his 15-month-old son for the first time, then I stayed in Tulsa with my mother on the way home, so it was an impromptu family reunion. Also, I made it back to Scottsdale to celebrate Jeordie's birthday.
The following weekend, it was off to Altanta, Georgia, for WrestleMania XXVII. The event sucked, but the city was awesome, so there was no way I was going to change plans for that trip. I got to spend a lot of time with another good friend of 9 years (also with a 15-month-old child), so the whole month was spent with good friends and minimal concerns about work.
Work is a hopeless cause, so I put in my two weeks notice after I got back from Atlanta. Later that day, my grandfather passed on. He entered hospice in January, and the nurses were surprised by how well he was doing the past couple months. I got to see him in November, and he was always the type of guy who just enjoyed the simple pleasures of life, like sitting on the porch or taking a nightly walk. Unfortunately, there wasn't much left in life he could enjoy when I saw him in November, so it was the best thing for him. (Rest in Peace, Papa John.)
It started when my computer died. It just wouldn't turn on one day. It didn't take long to adjust to life without Internet for me, surprisingly. Obviously, I didn't quit cold turkey as I had access to most of the Internet at work, but in terms of casual posting, well, that suffered a bit.
Luckily, it turned out that it was just my starter (or power supply, in computers) and my best friend hooked me up with someone she knows who managed to fix it at minimal expense. More than I can say for my friend's car I bought off her. It seemed like a better idea at the time than it really was, but it is in need of repairs, although it seems to be workable. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know since I haven't stayed on top of it.
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| Jericho was happy to be home! |
Therefore, I spent the middle of March driving 3200 miles to Galesburg, Illinois, and back. My friend wisely had planned out a very easy route, so the first day was an 8-hour drive, then next two days were 6-hour drives, and the last day was a 4-hour drive to Galesburg (I turned back around and drove to Tulsa, so it was a 10-hour drive that day, then another 16-hour drive back home the next day).
Lucky for me, the second night's stay was in Oklahoma City where I was able to reconnect with my best friend and meet his 15-month-old son for the first time, then I stayed in Tulsa with my mother on the way home, so it was an impromptu family reunion. Also, I made it back to Scottsdale to celebrate Jeordie's birthday.
The following weekend, it was off to Altanta, Georgia, for WrestleMania XXVII. The event sucked, but the city was awesome, so there was no way I was going to change plans for that trip. I got to spend a lot of time with another good friend of 9 years (also with a 15-month-old child), so the whole month was spent with good friends and minimal concerns about work.
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| John Mack Motley (1920-2011) |
In between, I have been busy fighting off a cold, including a bizarre eye infection (which turned out to just be a burst blood vessel) and I changed my TV package from basic expanded cable to digital cable, through which I have found out that there are several more TV shows that I enjoy than I was aware of, including "Mr. Sunshine," "Perfect Couples," and (most surprisingly) "Outsourced." Not coincidentally, this change was made just in time for the Stanley Cup to begin.
This brings me to this evening, which is the first day in over a month's time that I have worn contacts. I worked my final Saturday shift at work, I drove Chad to the airport, dropped Jeordie off at her gig, attended Psy's 3/4th birthday party (which Steve Nash crashed) and watched lots of hockey.
Busy is the new norm.
This brings me to this evening, which is the first day in over a month's time that I have worn contacts. I worked my final Saturday shift at work, I drove Chad to the airport, dropped Jeordie off at her gig, attended Psy's 3/4th birthday party (which Steve Nash crashed) and watched lots of hockey.
Busy is the new norm.
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