Off to Vancouver at the ass-crack of dawn tomorrow for my first international hockey tournament. I know Vancouver isn't that far from the United States, but getting there still requires the assistance of my rarely-used passport. I'm a bit more nervous than I usually get before tournaments, mostly because my shoulder, while better than yesterday, is nowhere near 100%. The chiropractor did some magic yesterday, including two rounds of the electric stim (close relative of the electric slide, yes) that loosened it up a bit. Now sporting some magic tape from Japan, I'm somewhat improved.

But mostly not.

Our first game is tomorrow night. The worst part about this tourney is that it's the first one Andrea can't go to. I've never played a tourney without her in the stands. Wish me luck...

The other day a sad song came on my ipod (which Andrea was nice enough to load for me with a smattering of every CD we own). It was from Boys on the Side, the last movie I saw with my ex when were breaking up. We both knew that we were at the end of the road (I, of course, didn't know about the nurse who was waiting in the wings for said breakup to happen) but we went to the movie as if it would be a sufficient bandaid to heal a wound that had never been whole.

It wasn't. We broke up three days later, I left the soundtrack behind for her when I moved out.

Andrea had no similar obligation to her own copy and has put it on the ipod. When I heard the song, I thought of that day at the movies and all the heartbreak that came after and then, you know what I did?

I skipped the song and moved on. It's okay to remember, but not always required to dwell. In many ways I thank God for that nurse in the wings because that was the first link in the chain that brought me here, to my eighth year with Andrea, to a life of shared joys and (perhaps a disproportionate) heartache, a wonderful life in the end.

After everything we've been through in the last year, I can say this for sure. I wouldn't trade my life with Andrea for anything.

Somehow I managed to hurt my shoulder in/after last night's game. It is more painful than when I hurt it last winter. What sucks is that the Seals are leaving for Vancouver on Friday so it needs to be healed by then.

Crap!

I prefer to call it 'coming in second' instead of losing.

Last night's inagural A-Team II game was Big Fun! It was a close game the whole way through and though I'm utterly embarrassed that both of the 2 goals scored were on my line, I still had a good time. In addition, I managed to get the first team stat: a 3 minute penalty for hooking. Thank you, thank you.

Annette popped up the first important team number with a gorgeous goal, making our end result a 1-2 loss, or second-place finish, depending on how you want to think about it.

No matter what, it's gonna be a fun season. Woo!

Here's what that last post means: after 1 month of work, of Andrea schlepping me from evaluation session to evaluation session, crossing the Dumbarton Bridge in a hurry and sometimes in a huff, we have successfully evaluated and placed 180 skaters and goalies across 4 divisions of the NCWHL.

In case you're wondering, I had the humbling experience of seeing on paper how very appropriate my skills are for the maroon division. I also became a green goalie, which I'm both a little bummed and relieved about. Being a red goalie was just more than I was ready for and this way, I get to play with Andrea on two teams!

Demotion is okay if you get to play with Andreatan.

Hoping for a Statuette
Hi Folks, After far too many hours of work, sweat, and some tears, the end result of the evaluation process is the attached spreadsheet.

Honestly, I feel like there ought to be a statuette presentation, followed by the opportunity to make a speech to accompany said statuette, but in the end, one spreadsheet is all there is. Enjoy.

Liz

I woke up this morning early (for a Sunday) wanting to get started on the Literature Review for my thesis. So I am.

The hardest thing about school right now is that the only class I really care about is my research class, the one that's encouraging me to form ideas, read a ton of literature (though the beauty in the way Maureen teaches is that I just started being aware of how very much relevant stuff I've already read and processed) and now start cranking out this Lit Review (a task which I have decided is worth of proper noun status).

My other class, the Cross-Cultural Marketing in International Tourism, is just a waste of time for me. I've worked in and around marketing for many years, I know the practical application of it, even if I've never run a hotel (and for the record, have no aspirations of ever doing so) I still know what we're talking about. The only really new thing I've learned is this:
In the public sector, more than one business doing the same thing is competition.
In the private sector, that same concept is called waste
Hmmm. But for an entire semester, I'm not sure that's a worthwhile take-away. I haven't actually added the class yet (long story and for once, it's not my own drama, it's merely ancillary to someone else's) and at this point, I'm leaning really strongly toward not doing so.

I don't know what this means for my status in the program. Last semester, I took 2 English and 1 RecL class, this semester I've vainly attempted 2 RecL and 1 English (all the while becoming more aware that while I'd like to one day have an MFA, I don't have the intestinal fortitude to stomach a number of years around my peers in the field, not to mention my inability to grasp the importance of analyzing works from dead white men. I just can't.) and in truth, all I can bear to take in the RecL department, yes, I know that's my own damn department, is the research classes.

Because I like to study, I like to write, I love pulling ideas out of my ass then seeing them become well-formed on paper. But I just don't care about the other classes that are supposed to make me a recreation professional, something I'm starting to admit I may never become.

I'm thinking quite seriously about moving to the Human Performance department, if they'll have me. I'm trying not to think about dropping out.