Losing My Teeth

I think this is the year to get all my bodily processes healed and up to speed. That's what happens when you hit the big 5-0. I had my physical, though I still need to tie up a few loose ends, get some blood work done, and deal with my teeth, which have been a bit of a thorn in my side, or in this case, my mouth. As I've mentioned, one of molars is in bad shape, and I was hoping that my dentist would just yank it, but no such luck. After the failed root canal attempt, it was decided that extraction was the next step, so off to the oral surgeon I went (can't my dentist just pull it?)

To be fair, the tooth was cracked and in bad shape, but waiting to see the oral surgeon was only prolonging the inevitable. What made it hard was that I couldn't really chew my food on that side because the tooth was so thrashed. I went to the oral surgeon (very nice, I liked her a lot) for an initial consultation, and then I had to make an appointment for the actual procedure. They miraculously had an opening at the end of the same week, or I could wait until January. I was hesitant because like all things in my life, I like to put them off, but I realized that sooner was indeed better.

So a few days later, I went in and she yanked the thing out. It was easier than they anticipated, which actually made the procedure cheaper, and I got a refund. Don't you just love when that happens? The tooth itself was so gnarly, I won't horrify you with the details. It was good to get it out, and since the area was infected, she put me on systemic antibiotics for a week. This was some serious stuff.

Now I'm on the road to recovery. I still can't really chew on that side, but eventually it will be all systems go. They inquired about dental implants, but that's apparently an option I can pursue at a later date, and she didn't push it hard. Besides, she said plenty of her patients live happily ever after with just one molar, and I'm all for happily ever after. They tried to accommodate an implant on the other side when they took out the molar, and it didn't work, so I wasn't very hopeful this time around.

For now, there's no more pain and eventually I can go back to eating a normal diet, which means food 24 hours a day.

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Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Amber for the pic.

Hockey Drama

Even though we've left our old lame hockey program, N's new program is not without its share of drama. One of the big issues is that several of his teammates are freshman in high school, so they are eligible to play high school hockey. The big city hockey program is legendary so they are all just biding their time to make the team, though it's very difficult for a freshman to make it. They have the option to play JV or do their second year at the Bantam level. The big city program actually requires them to choose, they cannot do both, though almost every other program allows this.

With this in mind, a couple of the stronger players, and dare I say one of the best guys on the team, want to play for their respective HS. It's not the big city program but a neighboring school, where they are sure to play on the varsity team. Given the choice, of course they're going to go for that option, but if they do, then they can't play for this team because this team won't let them. I think it's lame, and everyone is up in arms over this decision, but I guess rules are rules.

So now, this team that's been depleted for various reasons, is now going to lose even more players. It's really hard to even fathom, but such is life. I guess you just have to roll with it, though our time in the big city program is really not what I had expected it to be.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Kaz Andrew for the pic.

Closet Carpenter

Word has come down from above (i.e., mom) that A needs more useful closet space, with “useful” being the key word here. A has a small walk-in closet in her room that we have been using for storage, and the time has come to open it up so that she can put her clothes in there. This is a two part process, with mom taking the reigns on the first part (cleaning the closet), then leading the way (cracking the whip?) on the second part (installing a bar), which will require my involvement. The reality is that she's already taken care of the first part, so turning this closet into useful space is really my job, and that will require installing a bar (an maybe a few hooks) so that she can hang her clothes properly. As it is now, I think she is using various wall appendages to hang hangers, and needless to say this has limited utility. At some point a girl needs a proper bar to hang things.

I had to come up with a plan. It's not the most challenging of projects, and I've done similar things in the past, but seemingly in the distant past. Not only will this require me to get off the couch and actually do something, but I need to locate my tools (must inquire with N), and then get the necessary supplies at Home Depot. Then I have to devise a plan, then actually do it, which I've found is one of the hardest parts. Fortunately I have mom there to motivate me.

I headed over to Home Depot with N in tow and we got the lumber, got the bar, as well as the necessary hardware, and I was good to go. Getting the first step accomplished was key to placating the powers that be, but needless to say, I can't be complacent and rest on my laurels, or risk losing my laurels. I need to take the supplies and put them into action, which shouldn't be so hard, should it?

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Then again, you just never know. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to aarondfrancis for the pic.

Multi-Instrumental

As a completely unbiased parent (yeah right) I've always thought A is competent on a variety of instruments, and recently she's begun dabbling in yet another one - the bass. Over at the Dojo she was asked to stand in for one of the bands because their bass player was away. It turns out that she was competent enough for them to ask her to continue to play bass for said band, and I for one think she should go for it. Of course there are issues of school, other musical commitments, and a teenage social life, but she'll figure it out if need be.

If that's not enough, her high school music teacher also asked her to play bass in their little jazz ensemble. She has a number of musical projects at the school, including jazz band, orchestra, and a special side jazz project mentored by her music teacher, IG. He's very supportive of the kids branching out, and originally A was going to play guitar, but he likes her bass playing and wants to make it a jazz quartet (bass, drums, piano, sax), with a bass instead of a guitar. Could this mean it's time to get another instrument? I won't go there... for now.

All in all I think it's very cool. All of these bands are slated to do assorted gigs throughout the coming year, so stay tuned for more.

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Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to photojimso for the pic.

Friends Down South

N has a new friend that lives a bit south of here, and when I say a bit, I mean about an hour drive away. Also, when I mean friend, I could mean more than that, but who am I to say?

Either way, the distance is an issue, but not an insurmountable one. We've made the trip a few times, and the whole family is very nice. They live near a big city (Concord), bigger than our own “big city,” so there's lots of stuff to do down there. It's actually the state capital (NH). Plus, if you can believe this, certain aspects of our lives actually place down there, including surfing (we pass through Concord en route to the beach), one of A's bands (the singer lives down there), and of course, hockey. Sure, it's not ideal, but all things considered, it's not so bad. I figure that as long as he's into it, we'll work towards finding a way to make it work.

At the very least, it's another good motivating force to get us to hit the waves, and you have to love when that happens.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Patrick Bergeron for the pic.

Tire Neurosis

This year we've decided to put snow tires on both cars, and as you can imagine, I'm not too thrilled about the expense, but you can't put a price on safety. This winter has sort of crept on us with the warm fall, and already you can read stories about cars losing control on the roads. It's not even that cold and slippery, but as I mentioned, the cold weather seems to come out of nowhere after days of warmth, it really takes you by surprise. It's much better when it gradually eases you into winter, we're just better prepared on all levels.

Anyway, with A driving the car more and more, I feel much better having snow tires on both cars. It's a given on my car considering all the driving I do for hockey, but I want them on mom's car, as well. Of course I'll feel the $ pinch, but nothing new for me. Best of all, searching for a good deal on good snow tires is a great way to feed my OCD. If money was no object, I'd just take the car over to my mechanic and put on the best, Nokians. I won't even attempt to spell the name, it's Scandinavian (Finnish, I think), which means there's not enough vowels for an ignorant Californian like myself to pronounce.

Either way, after some tireless research (about 15 minutes), I think I've found a good tire. In the past I usually put the Nokians, but they're about $40 more per tire. Sure, they're great tires, but that's $160 per car more. I've also purchased Blizzaks, which are also great tires, but they're a little pricier, and they have an aggressive tread and don't last long. Last year mom decided to stick with her all seasons over the winter and it worked out because she's a good and careful driver, and employing a little common sense as to when to even attempt to drive is always a good approach. I know a few people who just use all seasons year-round, but most of them have 4-wheel drive.

In the past I've employed the wisdom that was shared to me by an acquaintance who said get the best winter tires you can get. I can completely see the merit to this approach, but given that we got along fairly well with just all seasons, I've deviated from this line of thought and now think that most snow tires will do just fine. I'm still reluctant to buy bargain basement tires made in China, but I'm a fan of Japanese tires. And of course, Scandinavian tires. Factoring in all this thinking, I'm going with a Japanese tire, the Sumitomo Ice Edge. I learned that the owner of our tire provider uses them, and I trust Japanese products, especially when it comes to cars. I also just recently learned that the tires are actually made in Finland, which is sort of weird, in a very good way, of course. I had pretty much decided on the Sumitomos, but the fact that they're manufactured in the same region of the earth and Nokians is just a little frosting on the cake. I love when that happens.

Do other people torture themselves like this over tires? Sometimes I think it's a wonder I can even make it out the front door, but that's the beauty of being a parent - your kid's needs force you to stop feeling sorry for yourself, get off your butt, and out the door. For someone like myself who excels at self-pity, this is a very good thing.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Patti Z for the pic.

Taking Advantage of the Weather

Okay, so I tend to whine about the warm weather (to say the least), but despite my dislike for warm humid temps, the fair conditions have definitely been a bonus for me in terms of getting ready for winter. In years past I've left things out too long and then the snow comes. By that point, it's too late and they end up outside all winter. While this seems like the easy way out, it tends to come back to haunt you, especially when it comes to power tools.

With this in mind, with the recent warm up, which for the record is highly unusual (50 degrees near Thanksgiving? Gimme a break), I was able to run the chainsaw and lawnmower dry, and get the hoses drained and stored. I left the hoses out and once the freezing temps hit, the water inside them froze. I figured it was all over at that point, but with warmer temps forecast, I laid them out, let them drain, and then wound them up for storage. I also moved all the kindling blocks and fat logs into the basement, and got year two of the woodpile stacked and covered. Rock and roll!

I failed to do any raking this year, or for that matter last minute mowing, but I can definitely do that in the spring, when cabin fever makes doing crappy outdoor chores a joy (sort of), or at the very least, less miserable. Then again, I always seem to find a way to complain about something... just ask my family.

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Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Blaine French for the pic.

Learning Lit

We need to do more literature work for A, and I've been furiously searching for some venue in this regard. Almost every other subject seems to have a great deal of resources online, but literature is a bit more complicated, mainly because it usually involves writing essays and getting critical feedback. This isn't so easy to do on a website, and often involves some human interaction. Good luck with that online. There are online classes that include teacher oversight, but more often than not, they are a little pricey, and as anyone who knows me knows, this is a big turn-off.

Thus the search begins for a lit resources online. My feeling is that it's really about choosing some classic and seminal books to read, hitting on a theme to write about, and then having either mom or me read and review it. Then hand it back to A for proper revisions. Truth be told, A already took the SAT Literature subject test and did very well. She's a good writer, but we need to have some organized and structured learning to gain some credibility. Unfortunately, my word just isn't enough to appease the powers that be.

We'll see where this one goes. Why does life always seem like such an adventure? Probably because I can never do anything the easy way, like sending your kids to school.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to eltpics for the pic.

The Silver Lining of Nature's Wrath

The weather has been more than a little crazy, with cool summers, warm autumns, and the occasional storm that seems to come out of nowhere. We got slammed with just such a storm a week or two back, and it was a little precarious, to say the least. We got some rain but the big deal was the wind, which knocked out power to much of the area. We lost it for about 3-4 hours, but some people were without electricity for as long as a week. Boy what a drag.

While we're never fans of big windy storms like that, if there was ever a silver lining to them, this might be it. We had an old hemlock that had died a few years ago but was still standing, so it needed to be dealt with. The big concern was that it would fall somewhere we didn't want it to, though it was too far from the house. My Mentor had a look at it and wanted to cut it down ourselves, which would have entailed tying it to his truck and gradually cutting the thing down. I think we could have done it, but he was insisting that we drop it onto the grass where we hang out laundry, thus necessitating the removal of our laundry line. Not a big deal, but would require putting it back up, and it wasn't that easy because it's long. I thought it would have been easier to drop it in another direction, but he was having none of it.

As with many things in my life, I sat on it and eventually my Mentor went back up to his winter home in Maine, so the tree was still standing, allowing me to put it off for yet another year. Yay... or not. Then this storm hit, and mom had mentioned that she thought she could hear trees falling in the woods. As luck would have it, one of those trees was the dead hemlock, and it fell back safely into the woods. Boy, talk about getting lucky, not only did it do no harm, but it's tucked away in the trees, out of sight and out of mind, sort of. You can see it, but I could probably leave it as it is and nobody would care, or for that matter, even notice. I will probably at some point cut it into blocks to facilitate the decaying process, but for now, we're in good shape. Besides, I've already put my chainsaw in storage, so I have an excuse.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Hoads Wood Cottage for the pic.

Mold City

Now that the weather is cooler, the moist and humid conditions have passed. However, while it was warm, in combination with all the rain we seemed to have gotten, things got rather moldy. It wasn't as bad as what we used to get during the scorching hot and humid summers, where dampness affected just about everything. With this, it mainly affected stuff outside, especially our firewood, which seemed to be procure this nasty black and slimy mold. Not a huge deal, but a big unsightly, to say the least. Plus, it made splitting a bit of a challenge because the wood was so slippery.

Now it's cooler and dry, but from what I can gather, it's supposed to warm up a bit this week. Sometimes you just can't win.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to nevikk for the pic.

Making the Switch

In the words of Oscar Wilde, the best way to deal with temptation is to succumb to it. With this in mind, I took the leap and upgraded my smartphone, though upgrade should be taken with a grain of salt. I really liked my first phone, a Motorola, though it suffered (or rather, I suffered) from having too little storage. As a result, it couldn't hold too many apps and seemed to always be at capacity. This, despite the fact that I rarely downloaded apps and didn't take too many pictures. Otherwise, l liked the phone and its graphic interphase, and it was solid and looked good, but it only had (you're going to laugh) 3GB of storage. I guess you can't be too picky for a $39 phone.

In the quest for more storage, and thus more apps, I got an LG smartphone, which has a whopping 8GB of storage. This is paltry compared to modern smartphones like my daughters, but for me it is plenty. And, unlike my older Motorola, my LG has a selfie camera because I'm a selfie maniac, and it has a flashlight, which the Motorola did not have. Either way, it's a more up-to-date phone, but interestingly enough, it was actually cheaper than the Motorola. I don't get how all the pricing works, but the cost of smartphones, if you don't want the top of the line, can be very affordable.

So now I have a phone that has a light, can take selfies, and has enough storage so that I can download apps to my hearts content. What more could I ask for, other than maybe a smartphone that costs $50?

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Karlis Dambrans for the pic.

Mucho Splitting

With the winter weather right on the horizon, both literally and figuratively, I wanted to get as much splitting done with the splitter before the snow hit the ground. AM is very cool about not only letting me borrow her splitter, but not putting any time pressure on when to get it back. She said she'd done with all her wood for the year, so I could take my time. I did, however, want to get it back to her before it snowed, though I'm not sure why.

So with that in mind, I decided to get as much splitting done before the snow came, which was this week. For the record, it was only a dusting and as always I overreacted, but what else is new? Either way, I have a pretty major pile of logs that needs to be done, including a pretty significant pile that I'd determined were too difficult to split by hand. Or should I say would require too much time and effort. I sort of believe that given unlimited time, eventually I could split most pieces, but who's got the time and energy for that?

I also have a massive pile of logs that I haven't sorted through, so it includes splittable and non-splittable pieces. With time an issue, I decided I didn't have time to be picky. The plan was to split the un-splittable pile, then just start splitting everything in sight. It actually worked out pretty well. I managed to get the first pile done, and then I got started on the second massive pile. During the latter process I was able to separate out pieces that were clearly splittable, and just focused on big knotty pieces. By the end of last week I had a massive pile of split wood. Best of all, I was able to conveniently arrange transport of the splitter with none other than the other owner of the splitter. It's complicated and I won't bore you with the details.

All in all, a pretty smooth process because I split a ton of wood and borrowed and returned the splitter with minimal complications. Don't you just love when that happens?

I will say this - I think a splitter is in our future, maybe like the one in this pic... yeah, right. As much as I love to swing that maul, I'm getting old and my body can't always handle it. Total bummer, but such is life.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Dave Dugdale for the pic.

Oh Deer!

I don't know if this is a rite of passage when you live in rural New England, but I recently hit a deer while driving. From what I can gather, this is a pretty common experience, except that most of my friends were driving big manly trucks and I was in our little tiny Honda Fit. For all it's worth, despite the fact that the deer was pretty big, our tiny fit sent it flying. We had body damage to the car, but the frame and lights are fine, and the impact didn't seem to have much of an effect on the forward momentum of the car.

It was a crazy weekend, to boot. N had a game down in Concord and was visiting with friends down there, so we went down early. We met up at the arena and his friend stayed to watch him play, which I thought was cool. We grabbed a bite to eat then headed home. The drive is actually not as painful as I thought it would be, and if anything, is a shorter trek than games up in Burlington or St. Albans. Plus, I wasn't as exhausted (thankfully) as I thought I'd be. Either way, we got home around 5:00PM (after being out since 9:00AM) and N immediately informed me that his buddy SMA wanted him to sleep over. A was heading over to her pals house for her own sleepover, so I dragged my sorry and tired butt off the couch and drove N over to his friend's house, which is sort of in the middle of nowhere and a fair distance away. I took the highway over there but chose the roads on the way back, and that was a mistake.

While heading home, I was doing about 45 mph when a deer ran across about 1/4 mile ahead. I turned on my brights and eased off the accelerator when another deer darted out right in front of me. I had no time to react, and I slammed into it, sending it flying. There was literally nothing I could do. I pulled over to see how bad things were - the deer was clearly gone, and the front of the Fit was a bit dented. Total bummer all around, though on a bright note, the car drives fine, and everything else is working, including the lights. Nothing is leaking, and no mysterious smells, liquids, or gasses are being emitted. Interestingly enough, when I dropped N off, SMA's dad was talking about a buck they shot while hunting, so deer were on my mind.

The front end is a bit thrashed, so that's going to cost some money, but nobody got hurt, with the exception of the deer. I feel bad for the animal, but I get a sense he or she didn't even look before jumping out onto the road, and there were cars that preceded me, which you'd think would have warned the animal that it wasn't a good time cross the road. Then again, what do I know?

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to frankrichter1951 for the pic.

Preparing for Winter

I don't always remember how the seasons go about changing around here, but it seems like the cold temps have been late in coming this year. I recall having snow on the ground with freezing temps on Halloween, but this year it was downright balmy. In fact, until yesterday, we had spring-like conditions, not to mention a lot of rain. Most people are stoked about the warm weather but I have to confess that I'm sort of glad that it's becoming more seasonal. At the very least I welcome a break in the rain. It's either feast or famine up here because right before the deluge of rain we had drought conditions. Can't we just get something in-between?

Either way, looking at the bright side, I was able to get more winter prep done (like a squirrel or mouse gathering nuts) with the warmer conditions, though the rain made it a bit harder. There's the perennial task of firewood, which goes on and on, but as I mentioned before, I got more painting done, and we're in good shape for kindling. I also prepped the blueberry grove (8 plants, enough for me to call it our “grove”) for the winter, which means fertilizing and replacing the mulch. The grass could probably use one more cutting, not to mention raking, but I don't think it's the end of the world. Once the snow comes we won't even see it, though I will pay the price in the spring. The main things I need to do is empty the power tools and store them for the winter. I'm not sure what to do with the surfboards and may end up putting them in the basement.

Our deck is in dire need of attention, but that's going to be a spring/summer project, and of course, I have to finish that darn barn (where are you Amazing PR Man?). One pie-in the sky project is to work on the insulation in the attic of the main house, and I need to seal the windows up there because the wasps are invading. I'm not really looking forward to that one, but stay tuned for more.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to codregor for the pic.

Shadowing

Next year N will probably be taking a class or two (or three) at the local school, and part of that process is visiting the various schools to make an informed choice. They call this process “shadowing,” whereby the prospective student follows another student around at the school, thus “shadowing” him or her. A did it when she was just starting out, and N is following suit. Now he has several friends who go to the big city school, so when it came time to shadow there, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to shadow with one of the girls he knows, mainly because she's cute and hip and has cute and hip friends. It's not a bad thing for a guy to surround himself with girls, especially ones he feels comfortable with, and maybe finds attractive, though I can't comment on that part.

A few of his hockey teammates also go there, as well as his best friend, though I didn't want him to hole up in a corner with said friend and talk about drones all day. I was hoping for a broader and more expansive experience, maybe even a little outside of his comfort zone. N was game for whatever came his way. So, being the neurotic and overbearing parent that I am, I texted (I'm so hip and high-tech) his female friend and asked if she'd be willing to be N's host. I did this about two weeks before the shadow day, and she never responded. I waited and even asked A and N to follow up, but got zero cooperation. With only a few days to go, I finally told the school to just assign a person for him. I didn't want to be the annoying parent who embarrasses his kids, even if I excel at it.

On the morning of the shadow day, A&N and myself headed into school. I have to say, it was an enjoyable ride, and we joked around the whole way and had fun. I even said that if he had morning classes our commute was going to be a blast, though it might not include me at that point. We left early to have some extra time because I had to check him in, and it's a good thing we did because there was a major accident on the highway, slowing traffic to a crawl. We weren't horribly late, but they did request that we get there early to meet with the host student, and of course we screwed that up. Everyone seemed to know about the accident (life in a small town), so they cut us some slack. Interestingly enough, while we were walking to school, we saw the girl in question arriving, as well. I don't think she realized that this day was N's shadow day, despite my entreaties.

We got to the office and met up with his host, and off they went. My plan was to meet up after school, so I spent the day in the big city doing poster boy work and taking care of life's necessities. When I returned to the school, I learned that N's female friend commandeered him from his assigned host and took him around with her buddy, instead. How cool is that? I was stoked to learn that the scenario that I failed to set up actually fell into place, anyway. Plus, these girls are friends with N's best buddy, so they got to hang out, as well, so a good time was had by all. I love when that happens.

I asked N how his day went and he tried to play it off with a cool detached ambivalence, but I for one was happy with the way things transpired. Then again, nobody cares what I think.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to snapawayyoungman for the pic.

Learning a New State

Now that we're involved with the big city program, our focus has shifted to New Hampshire and a whole new set of ice rinks in various NH cities, many of which I have never visited. Interestingly enough, a fair number of these teams reside in the south of the state, down around where we surfed at Hampton Beach. Our NH EZ Pass, which I got for going to Hampton Beach to surf, will definitely come in handy for hockey season... don't you just love when that happens?

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Smaddy for the pic.

No Halloween

Just a quick reflection on Halloween this year, or in this instance, lack thereof. We didn't do much for one of my favorite holidays because the kids were all gone and it was just me and mom. I shouldn't say we didn't do much, because with just the two of us we went out to dinner and had a nice evening out, but we didn't do much in the true Halloween spirit. In years past it was a big to-do getting the kids all costumed up and hitting the streets to trick-or-treat. This year, however, N was away at camp, and A was hanging with her crew from school. Both options were much more fun for the kids, and it meant mom and dad didn't have to do much in the way of preparation, which is A-okay by me. We usually end up in the neighboring town where our old lame hockey program resides, so it meant seeing all the people we know from said lame program. Not this year.

We are definitely at that age where the kids don't want to do the same-old, same-old, and they most definitely don't want to be around their boring and embarrassing parents. I can't say I blame them.

Mom and I ended up in the big city and we tried out the local Indian restaurant, Jewel of India, that's been around for over 20 years. They promote themselves at the most popular restaurant in town, which is a bit of a stretch. I like Indian food but it always seems to me to be one step above fast good. When you're dining in NYC, this means it's cheap, but this being the heart of New England and such, it cost a lot more. Somehow I can't wrap my head around expensive Indian food that isn't any different than the cheap stuff you get in NYC or maybe Boston. Sure, if it's gourmet and they do something different with it, great, but this was not the case here. This was more like over-priced food that is a novelty so they can get away with it. It sort of gives you a sense of how provincial it actually is up here.

You see that a lot in this town, mainly because ethnically diverse food is such an anomaly that you pay for the novelty. As ironic as it may seem, eating out up here is so much more expensive than dining out in NYC. Anyway, the food was good but not life altering, and the service wasn't that great. Somehow the guys were abrupt and gave me the impression that I was cramping their style. Plus, while we were eating, the two guys working the front spent the entire time trying to swat a fly that was buzzing around, which didn't do much to fuel my appetite. I guess that's why a lot of people we saw were getting take-out.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Flor for the pic.

First Game Back

Now that N's playing for the big city program, we spend a lot more time in the big city... funny how that works. My point is that we don't really have a need to go to the old arena, the home of the old lame program. However, since the big city program's ice rink caters to so many different teams, they have a big shortage of ice. To accommodate this enormous need, the big city program gets ice all over this area, including at the ice rink of our old lame program. This of course meant that it was just a matter of time before we found ourselves back there. This actually happened this past weekend.

First, some background. Our old lame program plays at an ice rink that doesn't get as much usage as it could. Youth hockey has a girls and a boys program, and there are girls and boys high school teams. There are also a few adult leagues that play at night, but that's about it. Consequently, they have huge amounts of ice that go unused, which is not only a waste, but it's not the most ideal financial situation for an arena. Ice rinks are enormously expensive to run, and you hope to fund these costs by selling as many sheets of ice as you can. When we were with our old lame program, there were hours upon hours of unused ice, which doesn't seem economically viable, but what do I know?

On the other hand, the big city program has one ice rink, and there is a huge demand for ice. They are home to much bigger boys and girls youth hockey programs, and they cater to two different high schools, both with a girls and a boys team. AND, in addition to numerous adult leagues, the big city high school has a JV team, unlike the other high school. I've been told some of the adult leagues play from 9:00PM until well past midnight. Is that crazy, or what? They are trying to build a second rink, which is completely justified, but until that happens, it's just the one rink. Personally, I don't know how they manage to accommodate everyone... other than sending people to other ice rinks.

And that's what happened to us. N's team had a game over “there” and I knew it was going to be a little weird seeing some of the people I loathe. Actually, just one person, but he seems to live there. Sure enough, as soon as I walked into the arena, a bunch of the guys were standing there. I said hi to most of them, but when I came to said individual, I said, “Why don't you lie down in front of the Zamboni when they're making ice?” I didn't actually say that, but I sure as heck wanted to.

Truth be told, I did see several people who are still good friends, which means most everyone, and it was nice catching up. Plus, I got to hang out with N's old head coach, AL, who is a very cool guy. We chatted about the state of our old lame program and it reminded me of another good reason why we're not there anymore. I'll leave it at that.

All in all it was fairly uneventful, and N's team won, which is always a good thing. I'm sure we'll end up back at our old rink more than a few times this season, but that's beyond my control and if anything, more fodder for this blog.

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Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Sanghyun Lee for the pic.

Relax but Keep Moving

This may simply be an artifact of getting old, along with poor grooming and an embarrassing lack of a fashion sense, but my bodily pain seems to continually cycle in and out of my life. Just when I think I'm better and home free, something happens to make it crop back up again. As you can imagine, it's a bummer for me, who has to live with it, and a bummer for my family, who have to endure my whining. Then again, it's sort of amusing (at least for them), as well.

I had been pain free for about a year when I went back on the ice and sure enough, I twisted just the wrong way and hurt it again. I couldn't believe it, though I have to shoulder (or back) much of the blame because I have not been as diligent about stretching as I should be. It's a funny thing about getting hurt, you tend to go back to taking your health for granted once you're healthy again.

Well, I'm determined to not take my health for granted, and in the process of enduring more pain, I've learned a couple of things which in retrospect should have been obvious to me. First off, I'll do my stretching, even if it means looking like a big dork in the locker room. Fortunately for me, this will not be out of character. Second thing is to keep moving. I think the impulse is to rest and keep an injury stationary, and on some level this makes perfect sense, but I think it's also important to keep moving. The body has the ability to heal itself but somehow you can't just curl up in your bed and think things will be fine. I've found that moving around, even though it can be painful, aids the healing process.

And finally, I've found that relaxing helps to mitigate the pain in my back. I discovered this while getting into my car - I'm usually very tense in anticipation of the pain. I found, however, that if I just relax and ease up on the tension, the pain is much less, if not gone altogether. It takes some serious mind control to do this, but it makes sense in light of all that we're learning about mindfulness. I'm a believer.

Now I'm sure playing hockey and splitting wood, and eventually skiing, are all potential areas to aggravate my bodily pain, but a real man in training's gotta have a little fun now and then, doesn't he?

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to cosimo carbone for the pic.

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Painful Oil Change

We've been having some crazy weather, and I have to say, it's not all to my liking. Case in point, two days ago the rain finally let up and it looked like a nice morning. I figured it would be a good day to change the oil, but as soon as I got the car propped up and oil draining, the wind kicked up and it started to rain. Total bummer. The tarp I lie on and the various funnels and rags got blow all over the place, and needless to say I had a few choice words of angst regarding my situation, though I'll spare you the details. Looking at the bright side, the rain was just a drizzle, though everything did get wet. I managed to change the oil, nonetheless, and brought everything inside the house and set it by the fire to dry.

I still need to change the oil on mom's car, but this weather just won't seem to let up. I'm looking forward to two consecutive days of dry weather. It doesn't even have to be warm, I'd just like some sunshine and less humidity. Clearly this is asking too much.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to william3345 for the pic.

A Very Big Storm

I'm not sure where this storm came from, but we got slammed earlier in the week with a big one. I know people who are still without power, which is a complete bummer. I think the storm arrived on Sunday night, and I had no idea it was going to be so serious. In fact, I slept right through it. Both mom and A said they were up all night because the wind was so loud and menacing, and couldn't believe it didn't wake me up. Mom even said she could hear trees being knocked over by the wind. Those are some serious conditions when that happens.

I actually woke up around 4:00AM because the lights were flickering, and then the power died. This made getting ready for the day a bit of a challenge, to say the least. Not being able to flush the toilet can have serious ramifications, especially if you're a morning person like me. A and I had to get ready for school with no electricity, though we were well prepared with fresh water and plenty of flashlights (and lanterns). In fact, all things considered, things went reasonably smoothly. I was even able to make fruit salad.

By the time we got to school, power was restored at the college, and when I called mom around 9:00, she said the power was back on at home. We really lucked out on this one because our power was only out for a few hours. As I mentioned, there are people who still don't have power, and I'm grateful that ours came back on. The drive to school was an interesting one, as well, because there was plenty of debris on the roads, and traffic lights were out all over town. Throw in the incessant driving winds and stormy conditions, and it was surreal, to say the least. I don't think we got an inordinate amount of rain, but I'd read that some towns were flooded, so it was some serious stuff, not unlike a hurricane.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Sherwin H for the pic.

Switching Hands

Cementing his genius status, N had a brilliant idea that had me scratching my head and asking the age-old question, why didn't I think of that? I recently had a bout with what I believe was poison ivy on my left wrist - boy, there's always something wrong with me, isn't there? I have no clue where I contracted it, but it was probably from lifting the firewood blocks just before splitting them, and you just never know what's growing on that wood. The situation wasn't horrible, just annoying, and what made it worse was that it was on my watch hand. Every time I wore it, it would rub on the irritated skin and make it itch. It was driving me crazy.

Of course, not being one to suffer in silence, I was complaining about my malady to my kids when N said to just wear my watch on my other hand. Whaaat? I practically knocked myself out slapping my forehead and saying, “Why didn't I think of that?”

It just goes to show you, you're never too old to learn, or in my case, when you're at the bottom of the intellectual ladder, you got nowhere else to go but up.

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Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Ricardo Reis for the pic.

Surfing Reflections

I hate to admit this but I think we're done with surfing this year. It's just getting too cold, and being the softie that I am, the idea of getting out of the cold ocean water into the colder air just has no appeal to me. Maybe one day I'll be tougher, but I seriously doubt that. I know plenty of people who surf year-round, but clearly they are more of a man (or woman) than me.

Despite the disappointment of the surfing season coming to an end, I have to say that it was a good year, simply by virtue of the fact that we went and did it. As was meticulously described in this blog, this was no easy feat because it required getting wetsuits, booties, and eventually gloves, and of course, surfboards... for three people. Then, the hardest part, was just motivating to get into the car and hitting the beach. I'm happy to say that we not only did it, but weren't completely discouraged and are on our way to the surfing life. I give the kids credit for sticking with it, because it ain't easy. Then again, with greater challenge comes greater reward.

I think we all have a ways to go before we shred, but we are definitely on that path. As I've mentioned in the past, it makes for a more enjoyable summer, and dare I say that I'm actually looking forward to what was in the past my least favorite season.

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Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Bengt Holm for the pic.