So now it's time to post some embarrassing hockey media.
These are some vids and photos taken by Erin's boyfriend John of her second game. I hope the link works.
And if you're looking for me, I'm the one with the white jersey tucked in at the back and the pink skate laces. Not the white jersey with "18" on it - she's far too graceful to ever be me. No, I'm the short one who looks as wide as I do tall, and skates with my feet very very wide apart. The top of my helmet is also visible in the last photo of Erin where she's grabbing her crotch. That was because I informed her that her pants were unzipped at the legs.
So, with Erin's humiliation out in the open, I invite you all to come down to Belltown on Monday nights, between 815 and 915, and take embarrassing photos of me on the ice. I'd like to see if I look as awkward as I feel.
*** EDIT 28/11/06 9:23 AM ***
I'm on crack. 815 to 915 is my Saturday at Minto. *MY* game on Mondays at Belltown is from 700 to 800 PM.
*** END TRANSMISSION ***
Busy weekend for me.
Friday we went to see Casino Royale, which was very good, like Connery Bond, not Dalton or Moore or - ugh - Brosnan.
Best part:
Me: Those are Victoria's Secret models!
Travis: And how would you know?
Me: Hello, I buy from the catalogue!
Saturday Andy and I went jeans shopping and came away with some sweet deals. We picked up my hockey stuff and did some grocery shopping as well. Argued over yoghurt, just like always. We are connoisseurs, you see.
Then it was off to hockey for me.
Best part:
John: Whoops!
(Whereupon he promptly crashed into the boards, even though he was standing still. It was like he was wearing his skates on the wrong feet or something)
When I got back, Andy and Tim guilted me into going to ER to get a tetanus shot. I'd had two run-ins with rusty things in the days previous, and my jaw was pretty sore. Andy and I headed to the general emerg, and discovered the wait time was 6 hours for non-emergency patients. But when they discovered all I needed was a tetanus shot, they saw me within 20 minutes. I guess it's because a) I didn't need any real medical attention, it was something a nurse could do, and b) if I DID have tetanus, I could easily die, so I should be treated soon. And I got to watch the Edmonton game while I waited.
Best part:
Me: . . . and then I stabbed myself with a rusty needle -
Nurse (worried): You - You mean, a needle used by someone else?
Me: No, no, a sewing needle.
(laughter all round)
Then Andy and I headed out for a beer with Cait and Sarah to watch the end of the game at the Thirsty Toad.
Best part:
Watching Roloson make a Bobby Orr like move that gave him a wicked save.
Then it was back to Andy's place, which was full to overflowing with Tim's friends from out of town. So it was a bit noisy, a bit hard to sleep.
Sunday we woke up and fed ourselves some yoghurt, then headed to Stefan's new place to help him and Tony paint. Hilarity ensued.
Best part:
Painting the whole thing in two hours. There were six of us.
Moseyed on down to Andy's parents' place to feed his sister, watched A History of Violence (very weird, entirely inappropriate for a 15-year-old girl to watch). Then we nearly fell asleep so we went back to Andy's place for more yoghurt and a few episodes of Scrubs, and then I went home. I was in bed by 9.
Today I have office hours and then I'll study a bit for my GRE, which is TOMORROW. Four hours in front of a computer. I'm not all that confident, which may be why I haven't studied as much as I should. After that, I'm heading to Andy's to help him with his new arcade cabinet, and then I will get myself drunk. The day after that is Stefan's moving day.
So that's a busy weekend followed by a busy week.
Keep in touch.
Watch this.
I was woken by a telephone call yesterday morning from CIBC, telling me that someone stole my credit card number and spent a whole lotta money with it. Luckily, I'm not responsible for any of the charges, which we separated from all the charges I actually put on the card, and I'll have a new card number couriered to my house on Thursday. I love how CIBC does this - I've been called by their fraud department twice before just to check to make sure I actually made certain purchases. They know my spending pattern and call whenever there's something a little sketchy.
I also voted yesterday, but Alex Munter, alas, didn't win. I haven't checked to see who won as councillor, but I have my hopes.
Then I went to hockey with Erin. Our white team got CREAMED by the red, something ridiculous like 9-1, but I won my first ever faceoff, and I made a diving pokecheck for the first time, that prevented two shots on goal when my goalie was out of position. And then I made some smart other moves, but they were kind of negated by the dumb other moves I made. But it was fun - I count that as a good game.
So that's my story. Heaven knows what will happen today!
p.s. JB who said you were my coach? :P
I had my first real hockey game tonight. It's all girls now, and it's a higher skill level. There are more players and they're a lot younger, some of them, than I played with last year.
In fact, the only people I know are the goalies and my friend Erin, who I coerced into joining the team.
So it's going to be a lot harder for me to score this year as a defenseman, since everyone is better. But I think it will make me better, and prevent me from getting complacent, which I was doing last year. Last year's team was no longer a challenge to me. So this will make me work. And the nice thing about it is that even at this pace, I can pretty much keep up - I mean, I'm rusty and my passing right now is shit, but gimme a few weeks and I'll shape up.
And Erin had fun, too, which was great.
It has been pointed out to me that I say certain things that not many other people (if any) say. Many of these things make no sense to anyone else because they haven't read the same books I have, and it's a single phrase from somewhere in there that stuck in my head (like "summat" instead of "something"). Others are inside phrases with other people that I continue to say when out of that person's company. Other things are pure ME. Feel free to add to the list. Here are some of them:
"Mm."
(Japanese affirmative to show I'm paying attention but don't feel like responding. I picked it up from my Japanese brothers. Not to be confused with "mmm.")
"Bloop bloop bloop."
(This is the noise my cellphone makes when I receive a text message. It's not because I'm crazy. In fact, you will notice that I often mimic the sound of something that has just happened. For instance, when my toaster goes off, I say "ding!" on the same note as my toaster. When the microwave finishes, I beep. That's all there is to it.)
"But my point is . . ."
(I will often interject this into a sentence when I am on the losing end of an argument, and what will often follow is a definitive statement which has little or nothing to do with what I was saying before.)
"InDEED."
(This mostly stems from reading too many Jane Austen novels. You can't blame me.)
"Opey DOY! Opey DOY!"
(This is a reference to Louisa May Alcott's Little Women series. Demi, Meg's little son, wouldn't go to bed when told, and would often insist upon joining his parents at the dinner table. His shout of "Opey doy, me's tummin'!" - or, "open the door, I'm coming" - would announce his presence outside the dining room. I say it when I want people to open the door. But they don't know what I'm talking about so it doesn't often happen.)
"Fuck you Beaver!"
(An inside phrase to which I have no ownership whatsoever. In fact, this phrase belongs to Andy and Tim, who developed it as children when fending off the damming [sic] influence of a beaver's traverses behind Tim's house. I use it, as they do, as a general expletive when someone or something [usually on the television or in a game] annoys me greatly.)
"Interesting, INteresting . . . "
(For some reason, both Lisa and I believe that this was in something that we once saw, so we both say it.)
"YE-esss . . ."
(Often accompanied by a gesture involving one hand cupped as if holding a martini glass, and the other making stirring motions above it as if in possession of one of those little swords holding maraschino cherries. One of Sheri's and my coping mechanisms in dealing with Wayner.)
"Also . . ."
(The beginning of a train of thought, usually out of nowhere, often following a long silence, which has little or nothing to do with the previous train of thought. Similar to Cait's additive, "Pee Ess . . .")
"Lissen . . ."
(Not a typographical error. I mostly use this in writing when I feel that someone is getting too far ahead of themselves. Used alone as a verbal command, it simply admonishes the silly speaker to calm down and stop being so ridiculous. When spoken it is not often followed by any other words. I note here that Travis also uses this turn of phrase, although it developed independently.)
"Less Talky More Hockey!"
(This I take full credit for coining. In fact, I should copyright it or something. This is applicable in many situations. It was coined when Don Cherry and Ron McLean were spending too long ranting and I thought the game should begin again. It can also be used when those with whom you are watching a game are talking too much and you feel you can't pay full attention to the game. In a general sense, it is also a good metaphorical phrase that is useful at any point in time when you feel that something has been talked to death or over-theorized, but not actually put into practice.)
So, what else you got?