Hockey Friends

There are numerous reasons that I like the fact that our kids play hockey. Besides my love of the game, they are definitely learning about hard work and diligence, but also about winning, losing, victory, and disappointment. All that good stuff. They are also making a lot of new friends, and it’s nice. Sure, they mainly see each other at the arena, but playdates and genuine friendships are being born from all this, and you can’t put a price on that. Having the common bond of hockey helps make that connection.

Also, and I’m being objective here, the hockey kids that we encounter tend to be good kids. Sure, they’re kids so they get crazy and hyped up on sugar and TV, but for the most part, they’re well mannered, polite, and respectful. The coach, DF, demands that from them, and it shows. I’ve noticed that throughout my years of watching sports, pro hockey players tend to be more humble and tactful than other athletes. I’m not saying their saints, they have their fare share of problems, but when you watch the game and listen to the players, they tend to deflect attention to their teammates, versus other sports where the players can really be self-absorbed not-so-nice guys. I’ll leave it at that.

I’m glad the kids are making friends, and they are finding numerous opportunities to hang out and spend time with them. Since they’re, for the most part, fairly local, they are within reach of socializing, and they’ll always see each other on the ice. You can’t beat that.

So for all the hassles, obligations, and angst that come with hockey, I have to say, it’s worth it in my eyes. Then again, nobody asked me my opinion.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to cjedwards47 for the pic.

Getting Out Of Hand?

As much as I love hockey, I have to confess, it must seem a bit insane to an outside observer. At some point you have to maintain some perspective. Even I can see that... sort of. Now I personally enjoy immersing myself in something, it feeds into my OCD nature. Besides, that’s when you’re really enjoying something, when it consumes you. The only problem is, it can be unhealthy, especially when you have other pressing needs in your life, like family.

This can work our okay when the rest of your family is on board. However, if this is not the case, then you can end up with a problem. This past weekend we had family visiting for the holidays, and it became readily apparent to everyone outside the talons of hockey’s perilous clutches that we are head over heels into this game. It must have really hit home for R’s parents.

Then again, I think they could appreciate the love of the game. It’s fun to watch when your kids are playing, regardless of the level of play. I think given enough time, anyone would love watching the game, and I’m trying to be objective here. It’s just a load of fun. If only we’d been able to catch a Dartmouth game. Oh well, maybe next time.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to That English Chap for the pic.

Someone Understands

All this hockey obsession is sure to elicit waves of concern from my family and acquaintances, not to mention a bit of disdain and scorn. I did, however, find that I’m not alone. I was at the market yesterday and saw RE, who is GE’s husband. He plays in the C-league with me, and when I asked him how his holiday was going, his response was that it was fine, but he was bummed because there was no hockey this week, and that he missed it.

I could feel a tear welling up in my eye.

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

Inane Detail (the best kind)

I know this is a trivial detail, and that I need to tone down topics pertaining to hockey because it is beginning to irk a certain individual, but I heard a fun fact about taping hockey sticks. A friend said that if you use black tape, it makes it harder for the goalie to see the puck coming off the stick. Now I realize that this makes no difference for a hockey novice as myself, and for that matter, for anyone below the college hockey level, but it sure seemed like a pertinent piece of information.  With this in mind, I got some black tape and re-did my stick blade. I found taping the handle black stains your gloves black, so I kept the white tape on the handle.

 

Now I’m sure to score a hat trick at my next game. I can’t wait.

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

Family of Fixers, Part 2

R’s parents came for a visit and as I mentioned the Amazing PR Man single-handedly dry walled the vestibule, but while all this was happening, R’s dad also fixed our microwave oven. Is that incredible, or what? Not only did he fix it, but he knows electronics (he’s an EE), and had a complete understanding of how the microwave works and all the possible problems that could arise.

I know one thing, if I were stranded on a desert island and needed a microwave fixed and some drywall done, I know who I’d like to have there with me. The microwave has been on the blink for several months, and we’ve simply adapted to life without it. I had a sense that when R’s parents visited, RR would want to take a stab at it, and I also had a sense that if he did, he would no doubt be able to fix it. The only time I think he didn’t pull off such a repair was when he looked at our TV, and the only reason he couldn’t fix it was because he didn’t have a spare circuit board with him. Mark my work, if we were at their house, he would have had that TV fixed.

Anyway, right off the bat, he questioned whether the problem with the microwave was the magnetron tube (MT), because they are designed to have a long life. We took the microwave down from the wall and with N helping with the screwdriver, proceeded to disembowel the thing. Sure enough, RR determined that the problem was not the MT, and then proceeded to fix it. Who cares if he wasn’t completely sure what he did? The point is, he did it. Just taking that step is the key.

It sort of gives you a sense of where the Amazing PR Man gets his amazing-ness. RR recommended that before we strap the thing back onto the wall, we should give it a few more tried to make sure it works. Now all we have to do is figure out where all those screws go and what all those pieces that fell out are for. No problem. My approach is if you’re unsure what it’s for, ignore it.

It should be interesting how long we go with the microwave sitting on the floor. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to kapunkapcoy for the pic.

Family of Fixers, Part 1

As I mentioned, the Amazing PR Man was once again amazing. About a year ago JH and his Magic Bag of Tools and I moved and reframed the front door. It was a pretty serious job, and I have to confess that I felt rather proud of myself at getting it done. It not only addressed a serious problem with the house, but it was a difficult task, not for the faint of heart. I did most of the framing, as well.

A year passed and the interior remained unfinished. R was not happy about this, but she realized that there so many other things going on. I was on the cusp of hiring a carpenter. Enter the Amazing PR Man. He took one look at it and said, “Let’s do it.” The only problem was, it would require a truck, which was no simple feat. We don’t own a truck, and the person I would usually ask for a favor, my Mentor, is probably not only sick of my needs, but he was out of town. I called a few people before our good friends, the Gs, came through. Speaking of testing the limits of our welcome, the Gs have been coming through for us on a number of occasions. Thanks GG and JG, you guys are the best.

Anyway, we needed a truck to haul drywall, which are not only big and heavy, (unless you’re the Amazing PR Man, who can toss them around like playing cards), but fragile. They break easily, and once they’re broken, they’re done. Because of this, we needed a big truck, as well.

This is how things transpired. There was an open stick at UA, which the kids wanted to attend (what else is new?). Now I could have been the pragmatic dad and just said no, but they really wanted to go, and more skating will only help their game. Plus, sometimes it’s easier when they are busy and occupied, leaving adults to do adult things. Finally, the timing worked out.

The plan was to drop them off at public skate, where they could skate for an hour before putting on their gear for open stick. This gave us 2 hours. During this time, we headed over to GGs, which is nearby, got the truck and then headed over to Brittons. Now I don’t think we could have managed this if not for Brittons, because Home Depot of LaValleys were almost too far away.

We picked up the drywall and plywood, as well as assorted necessities (i.e., drywall screws, masonry saw blade, joint compound) and headed home. We unloaded the stuff and the Amazing PR Man went to work. He didn’t even need me there to help, and if anything, we better off for it. When you’re amazing, you don’t need any help, especially from a real man in training.

While he was getting ready, I took the truck back to the Gs, and then headed to the ice rink to pick up the kids. They had just finished when I arrived, so I loaded them into the car and headed home, where PR was working on the vestibule, and R and her mom were making supper. I suddenly had some free time, which I couldn’t take advantage of because everyone around me was being industrious. I started working on my coaching module, which was probably a mistake, because it sent negative hockey vibes out to certain people (too much *$*%^ hockey!). I did manage to get a lot done, however. Those modules are a huge time drain.

Anyway, by later afternoon, supper was finished, and the vestibule was almost done. Dinner was nice, R and JR did a fabulous job, and after supper, PR and I went back to work. I think he wanted to include me in a few things because he might have got the impression that I was feeling left out. It wasn’t that I felt left out, but rather guilty that he was working so hard. I did manage to screw a couple of things up, but they thankfully weren’t irreparable.

I did learn how to cut dry wall, and due to time constraints, PR left me to finish the job. I need to cut out a piece of concrete board to finish the floor, and then finish taping the drywall. I have some experience working with joint compound when I fixed the walls after removing wallpaper, so it’s completely alien to me. That doesn’t mean I’ll get it done any time soon, but it’s something. Then I’m supposed to put in a floor. The decision was made to tile it, which is a bit more complicated than simply putting in wood flooring, but with greater challenge comes greater reward, right?

At the very least I’ll have something to write about. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to jwstrand for the pic.

Weekend Visit

R’s parents came for a visit this weekend, and like always, it was really enjoyable, albeit a little crazy with hockey and all. I think R felt like hockey infringed on the holidays, and I acknowledge that it takes a lot of time. In fact, at some point you being to realize that hockey kind of takes over your life, not that this makes anyone feel any better. I think there is a need to tread lightly when it comes to certain topics.

Either way, it’s good to have a healthy outlook and approach anything, which unfortunately, I do not have, but I won’t dwell on it. I’ll just do my best to keep my obsession in check and tread lightly on the topic when I’m in certain company.

Having said that, it was nice that JR had a chance to see A play. She didn’t have a chance to see N because his game was far away, but A was local, so she went with R, and I think she enjoyed it. Who wouldn’t? The games are fun to watch, and it takes on special meaning when your grandkids are playing.

Again, having all this hockey, not to mention my scheduling and coaching obligations, made for a hectic weekend, and I could have/should have done a better job of being more tactful and coy about it all, but what’s done is done, and I’ll have to learn from the experience.

One thing that kind of fell apart during this visit was our big family meal. The Amazing PR Man was inspired to finish a job that I had just barely started, and like all things that he does, he completed it in a timely manner (1 day!) and did an outstanding job. The guy is amazing. However, because it required all sorts of logistics and supplies, I was taken out of the picture when it came to making the meal, which is usually my job. R and JR did a stand up job of filling in, and it worked out in the end. It was just kind of complicated.

Adding to the complexity was, you guessed it, hockey. Not only did the kids have games, but there was an open stick that they wanted to attend, so I had to drop them off. This worked out, but it meant one more thing for me to deal with. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy. We pulled it off, but R’s parents must think we’re insane, and they wouldn’t be that far off.

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