Rioters in Vancouver...

Really? This whole mess in Vancouver just irks me. I guess part of me wants and expects people to be "good". But I should be smarter than that. I know alcohol is likely a factor, but what makes these idiots want to destroy shops, loot on live TV, taunt cops and canines, and parade around taking pictures of the destruction others created? I just don't get it. And as a friend stated earlier, the city of Vancouver and the fans of the Canucks are going to get a bad wrap as if this was solely their fault and the fault of the loss. When in fact is was probably only part of the excuse, and the stupidity of some of the intoxicated (at least I hope they are) fans getting involved after the fact. And it also pisses me off that the media should be reporting the win by the Bruins and the celebratory fans, and maybe even the sad Canucks fans. But in either case, hockey has been overshadowed by asshole hoodlums. ARGH!!!!! I think I need to stop watching CTV now, it's just pissing me off.

New Year’s Weekend in L.A.

So Sarah and I met up with Steph and Bre around 8:45am on Friday so we could sort of caravan down to L.A.. We ended up taking a couple of different freeways, but remained in the vicinity of each other. They even passed us on the freeway once and didn’t know it. After making one gas/food stop together, we arrived in L.A. ten mins apart from each other. We checked in the hotel which is an older hotel, and we later learned has VERY tiny rooms. There were a ton of 20 something’s checking in at the same time. We later learned that there was some local Rave and a bunch of them were going to it (dressed very oddly… I feel old).

Sarah unfortunately had pneumonia, but came on the trip anyway. She was feeling kinda ok, but she decided to take a nap before we headed out for the evening. At 6pm we met up with Steph, Bre and Jeremy to head to El Coyote Café, that Claire and Bobby recommended to me, for dinner.

We passed through Beverly Hills and Hollywood and ogled the mansions. The restaurant was eclectic and fun. I decided on the ostrich tacos, because how often do you find that on a menu (although I have had ostrich before), and they were great. Everyone enjoyed the place. After, we decided to head over to the Santa Monica Pier, which we predicted was going to be a madhouse.

Luckily it wasn’t. Michelle and Dan had been at the Ducks/Flyers game and met us at the Pier. We walked around a bit, took some pictures with a macaroni,
scared Steph by walking to the end of the pier over the water, watched some fireworks at 9pm down the beach, then walked down to the beach. Afterwards we went to Bubba Gumps for some late night drinks, appetizers and dessert before heading back to the hotel.

We got back around midnight and all headed to Steph and Bre’s room, which was a mansion compared to ours ;-) and we all hung out and chatted and laughed (boy did we) until 3am. Steph had woken up at 3am, so Sarah thought it would be fun to see if Steph could last 24 hours, and she did.

Saturday morning Sarah wasn’t feeling so hot, so she wanted to sleep in. We were meeting the gang at 3pm at the Yard House, but unfortunately Sarah wasn’t up to it, so she stayed behind. We walked down there and luckily it was no issue getting a table for 20 at that time. Slowly but surely everyone arrived (ended up being 15 people). It was great to see all the people from the previous night, plus Heidi, her 2 friends, Des, James, Kym and her husband, Matt and Stephanie.

We had a great time at lunch/dinner, even though it took them forever to take our orders. We walked over to Staples around 5 and went our separate ways to either the store, or to watch warm ups. Luckily Sarah was feeling better that this point and walked down to meet us for the game.

We were all seated in the same row for the game, which was nice. The game itself was a little mellow. Not a lot of fights or penalties, so it seemed to go pretty quick actually. But the Sharks pulled out a 1-0 win, and that’s what matters. We took our traditional group pic next to the Gretzky statue, then said our goodbyes.

Steph, Bre, Jeremy, Dan and I ended up hanging out and chatting for a few hours. It was a good time.

Sunday however was the day we had to leave. Sarah and my goal was to leave town by 11am, but after getting out of the parking garage, and getting gas, it was more like 11:20am. So off we went on a dreary day. Sarah’s Mom already gave us a heads up that there was a ton of rain between us and home, so we expected that. One we got close to the Grapevine, we saw a sign that said “snow escort, expect delays”. We didn’t know what a snow escort was, but thought it would be cool to see some snow. Well, after we were up the mountain, maybe around 1pm, we started seeing snow.

We thought, cool, and took some pictures. Then after a while, it was starting to stick to the ground, and the hills were looking dusted with snow.


Then the snow started piling up more, and that’s when traffic stood still. We started off with 5 lanes (or was it 4?) of traffic, moving pretty darn slowly. Then the snow started coming down really heavy, and we started moving about a mile an hour.

Then we would stop, then maybe go for 10 feet, stop another minute or so, go another 10 feet, etc. And I have never in my life driven on icy or snow covered roads in a non-4 wheel drive before. I would press the gas, my wheels wanted to force me to the right, and I had to compensate by turning to the left every time. I didn’t tell Sarah, but I was pretty freaked. I was worried I was going to spin out, or my car was going to shift to the right and hit another car, or get stuck in the snow. My heart was racing.

There were even a few people getting out of their cars and walking in the snow on the shoulder, not sure why. On the other side of the freeway, we could see plows, one at a time going down one lane, then a row of cars following it. So we knew that’s what was happening up ahead of us too.


After about an hour from when we first stopped in our tracks, the 5 lanes had been merged down to 1.

Some big trucks sucked it up and plowed through the snow in some of the outer lanes (yikes), but the rest of us played follow the leader and I tried to keep my tires in the tire tracks of the car in front of me. The icy roads had turned into slush and snow, and was much easier to drive on. It took us a full 2+ hours to get over the Grapevine, in what took us maybe 30 minutes on the way down.

And I have never seen so many cars just stranded on the side of the road for one reason or another. It was insane. When we were close to the bottom, we noticed no traffic on the other side of the freeways, and the road was just covered in snow. We knew at that point they closed the freeway down. Which apparently they did at 1pm, and may not reopen until tomorrow or Tuesday. And we felt bad for all the people on the other side that didn’t know this yet.

We stopped at the first place we could to make a pit stop. The gas station, food places, etc had no power. OK, so we drove another 5-10 minutes to the next place with services, this place MUCH larger. No power to the whole town either.

OK, so we just decided to move on and make up some time and made a stop a few hours later. We finally got to Sarah’s about 8 or so hours later, which took us less than 6 hours on the way down. Then I still had about a 45 minute drive home. We both made it home safely, which is what matters, and we have a story to tell.

Article about the storm and I-5 closure. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cold-weather-20110103,0,3315839.story

Where does the time go?

Yesterday I looked at the Arena and saw the scoreboard widget showing a game schedule. I completely oblivious that Pre-Season started today. I just had the October regular season dates in my head, so I wasn't paying attention. Then I just read that the Teal and White game was tonight. I have gone to it the last 2 years, and it was planned far in advance. How did I not know this year? Guess it was because no one posted about it, and since it's a STH event, it's not widely publicized on the Sharks site or anything.

Anyway, I was just shocked that hockey is here already. Now I just need to get my satellite TV working again (dish realigned) so I can watch on my nice TV and not on a 6" x 4" video screen on my PC. I'll get that done before the regular season at least.

Dream... Cheechoo and a work camp

I had 2 dreams last night at the completely opposite end of the spectrum from each other.

The first, I was apparently dating Cheechoo (don’t get jealous ladies). I don’t remember much of the dream except that we were at some amusement park for one part of our date. Then we ended up at some really high end restaurant, where the chef kept bringing us tastings of the food. I remember looking at the menu and it was really pricey, and even Cheech raised an eyebrow at the $40ish entrees. But we had an amazing meal with appetizers, entrees, wine and dessert. I felt bad it cost so much and offered to go dutch, but he wouldn’t let me. I was never one of the ones to pine for Cheech (so not sure why I dreamed about him) but he did look rather hot in my dream :-)

The second dream had me waking up with my heart racing. I was walking past barbed wire into some kind of work camp. I saw people dirty and in pens like you would see animals in at a farm. I had to walk with a line of people over these back to back ladder like things hovering like a bridge over water. I slipped and the last ladder came loose and fell into the water. The guard watching screamed at me as I apologized over and over. We kept going and we ended up inside and I saw a room that looked like it was framed out of bamboo and just had tarps over it. A bunch of people were inside wearing those old style military helmets watching something on a screen on the wall. Then there were bomb sounds and orange glowing lights just to make people scared. Inside were a bunch of offices, it looked like, and I just kept looking for a way out. I ended up outside back where those pens were and hiding under some tarp lying on the ground. I remember being muddy and wet and only one girl saw me go under there and was going to keep quiet. But eventually there was this lady guard that found me, and was sort of being nice by explaining what I was in for. She said the women were passed from guard to guard and then their fate is unknown. I was freaking out. Then I woke up just very uneasy and jittery.

Yosemite 2010

About 2 weeks ago, Claire, Bobby and I decided to head to their family cabin in Foresta (Yosemite) for Easter weekend. I headed to their place on Thursday so we could finalize the menu, etc. Which basically means that they plan yummy food to cook, and I agree to eat it ;-) Then we hung out and played Wii for a while. My first time ever touching the thing, now I want one. We played bowling, archery, wakeboarding and frisbee. Fun stuff. Anyway...

So on Friday, we headed out early'ish and were on our way. Once we hit the entrance to the park, there was snow all around on the side of the road and in the trees. We stopped so I could take a picture. But then there was more snow to see from then on. Snow banks on the side of the road, then through the forest to the left and right. It was beautiful. The last time I recall seeing snow was at the far end of Horseshoe Lake, outside Mammoth Lakes, the last time I was there in 2008 I think. Once we hit Crane Flat, it was actually snowing, so I took some video. Then we got to the cabin and unpacked. There was no snow down in Foresta, but the weather was overcast. We decided to head down to the Valley since it was early in the day still. So we stopped at Bridalveil first. The last time I was there, the water was whisping off the top like some water through a fan. This time it was gushing down, which was great to see. We walked up to the viewing spot, in the rain, then continued on. We headed to the store in the valley and bought some last min food and stuff. I kept looking at the souvenirs and was inclined to buy something. I collect magnets, but have about 5 from Yosemite, so that was pointless. Plus, I figure that I am there every one or 2 years, so I can get stuff next time.

Back at the cabin, we settled in and they made a nice fire in the wood burning stove. Played some Scattergories, Skip-Bo, etc. And they prepped the most amazing looking Enchiladas Verde, with homemade pinto beans and Mexican rice. All made from scratch, starting with the salsa verde for the enchiladas. And me even shucking some fresh peas from their pods for the rice dish. Although my main contribution was continually reading the recipes during the process :-) Unfortunately, I started to not feel well, so headed to bed without eating dinner. It was warm up in the loft with the wood stove shooting all the heat up there. But I adjusted to it.

Saturday (late) morning we headed out to the Ahwanee to check it out (not the first time of course), just because it's beautiful. Then headed to the Valley and had a chicken/mushroom/cheese pizza down there that was pretty good. Then wandered the Native American museum and village. After we went down to check out the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, which were gushing. So we walked the path to the Lower Falls. There was a ton of snow of the ground around the path which was beautiful. Then took a few customary pictures and headed on our way. We drove around the Valley just because. And in doing so, we saw a coyote in a field, so we pulled over and watched it for a while. Then saw a few deer laying down in the distance. Claire and Bobby decided to rent bikes for an hour (which we all did several years ago together) but I opted out this time. So they did that, and in the meantime I wandered a few shops at the Yosemite Lodge, got a snack and sat and watched the ever changing Upper Yosemite Falls, Beautiful!! We headed back to the cabin after that.

Instead of another elaborate dinner, we had a recap of dinner the night before. Luckily, because I missed out. So the enchiladas, beans and rice were amazing. We had the fire stocked again, and very warm, to counter balance the supposed 25-30 degree weather outside. We enjoyed many bottles of wine and sparkling wine this trip, which was a nice change from beer and liquor. Nothing wrong with either. It was just a change :-) After keeping the loft window open for a while to cool me down as I tried to sleep, I closed it and went to bed.

Then it was the ritual of getting up to clean what you had dirtied before leaving the place. So we tidied up for an hour or 2 and headed on our way. Hours later we were back at their place watching the Sharks lose in OT, and eating an awesome spaghetti with homemade meatball and salad dinner :-) A very nice weekend!

So long 2009...

This year has had its up and downs…

1. I've been unemployed all year. That’s good and bad. But that’s all I have to say about that.

2. I went back to Juneau this last July with my Aunt to see my parents on their boat. We were popsicles, but had a great time ;-)

3. I started a diet about 3 months back. Lost 25 lbs… gained 2 back (in only 4 weeks of slacking, not bad) and will continue on.

4. Whole heartedly welcomed a new member of the family… my cousin’s fiancée Savannah. She was always family, but it will become official in February. Being there when she found “The” dress, helping with invitations, seeing the venue, etc, has been awesome.

5. Attended the memorial service for Officer John Hege. He was the brother of a close friend growing up.

6. Road tripped down to L.A. with Sarah, and spent a few days down there visiting with friends from all over, going to Disneyland and to a game.

7. Spent a few fun weekends down in San Jose with out of town friends and seeing some games.

8. Spent a few fun days on the coast and got to see a newborn harbor seal be rescued.

9. Saw the new California Academy of Sciences and the Faberge exhibit at the Legion of Honor.

10. It’s been a financially tough year, so here’s to winning the lottery in 2010 :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Fox Sports NHL Widget... and why I picked the teams I did...

So, this widget is Pretty cool!!

It asked me for my 6 teams to show up in the widget, and I'd never thought beyond my #1 and #2 before. They didn’t force me to choose a 1-6... but I at least have reasons for choosing a 1-6...

1 - Sharks... DUH!! They are my home team. The team name that entered my breath the same day as the word 'hockey'.

2 - Coyotes... I have a friend in Phoenix, so when I visited her early in my hockey days, I made her go to games with me when I visited. We even got tickets just 3-4 rows behinds the Sharks bench one game. And I have been there about another 4 times seeing the Yotes play teams other than the Sharks. I kind of adopted them as #2. And they have a great Arena.

3 - Senators - Well this one is different. I had no interest in the Sens a while back... there was no reason. Then my favorite player (Milan Michalek) got traded to them. Even then I didn't have it in my head to immediately follow them. But gradually I began curious of his progress and how he had been doing. So I started rooting for the Sens. He did well a couple of games, but regardless, I was at least keeping tabs on the team anyway.

4 - Flyers - Another random team. I don't really "follow" them per say, but am happy when they do well against none of my favorite teams. I became friends and/or acquaintances with a handful of Flyers fans over the last few years and they are so devoted that it was hard not to cheer them on... when there wasn't a conflict of interest.

5 – Capitals – I flew to D.C. (office in Maryland) for work in Oct ’06, and had my nights free. I had maybe seen a handful of games at that time. But I had the bug. My friend who was travelling with me and I, met up with a childhood friend of mine and her boyfriend for a game. It was really random since I was new to the sport and really the only one who gave a crap about the game ;-) But it was fun to see Verizon Center all the same.

6 – Kings – Another division rival… but I seem to think of things on a more personal level that just hockey rivalries. I have met (online and in person) a lot of Kings fans over the last couple of years and they are great. And I call them friends. In the effort of hanging with them and seeing hockey at the same time, I have seen a handful of games in L.A., which is great.

So as is the theme, familiarity comes into play. There is something personal and/or hockey related that draws me to each of these teams. That’s just the way it is ;-)