Every so often art imitates life.

 For any of you who have been patient enough to keep checking in on my blog even though I have kind of pulled away from posting, I thank you.  My last post was a bit dark and sad, but the day I wrote it I had a lot to get off my chest.  It helped me a great deal to get it out.  I ask that all of you who know me, keep me accountable.  My life is in a transitional period, and every day is like my birthday.  God has left me little presents all over the place to unwrap and enjoy, all I have to do is seek them out.   Every day I learn new things about myself.  Well, that isn't really accurate.  They aren't new, they are old lessons, which at different  points in my life I had a good grasp on.  Years of being too tough to pray for help had left me stripped of these lessons, and needing retraining.

Most recently, a love mishandled had forced me to "look up".  There is nowhere else to look when you are lying on the ground.  It is funny, but as soon as I started to "look up" I started to heal.  I started to remember the purposes I had in life.  My goals became more clear, and my smile came back.  It was a wonderful revelation of a lesson we all need to know.  No matter how low we are, no matter what we may have done, no matter how alone we feel, there is a power within or reach at ALL times which can bring us peace.  Look up.  Okay, don't literally look up, but seek out God's grace.  Ask him to fill you with the power and discernment to see whatever challenges you face through.  One of my favorite quotes came from my days at New Brunswick Bible Institute.  I can't remember the source, but it goes like this:

"God will never place a mountain in your way, without equipping you with the proper tools to walk around it, climb over it, or simply blast right through it." - unknown

An old friend posted a song on her Facebook page today.  Ironically, it is called "Perfect" by a band called Hedley.  Lyrics are below te video

Falling a thousand feet per second, you still take me by surprise
I just know we can't be over, I can see it in your eyes
Making every kind of silence, takes a lot to realize
It's worse to finish than to start all over and never let it lie
And as long as I can feel you holding on
I won't fall, even if you said I was wrong

I'm not perfect, but I keep trying
Cause that's what I said I would do from the start
I'm not alive if I'm lonely, so please don't leave
Was it something I said or just my personality?

Making every kind of silence, it takes a lot to realize
It's worse to finish than to start all over and never let it lie
And as long as I can feel you holding on
I won't fall, even if you said I was wrong

I know that I'm not perfect, but I keep trying
Cause that's what I said I would do from the start
I'm not alive if I'm lonely, so please don't leave
Was it something I said or just my personality?

When you're caught in a lie and you've got nothing to hide
When you've got nowhere to run and you've got nothing inside
It tears right through me, you thought that you knew me
You thought that you knew

I'm not perfect, but I keep trying
Cause that's what I said I would do from the start
I'm not alive if I'm lonely, so please don't leave
Was it something I said or just my personality?

I'm not perfect, but I keep trying
Cause that's what I said I would do from the start
I'm not alive if I'm lonely, so please don't leave
Was it something I said or just my, just myself
Just myself, myself, just myself

I'm not perfect, but I keep trying

So, here it is.  I am not perfect.  I am far from even slightly acceptable.   I won't stop trying.  I can't afford to.  


Neither can you.

"Lies do not become us."- Westley

I want to share a little story.

I was in love once. I thought I had met my dream woman.  I adored her in every way.  I loved her family, and they accepted me as one of their own.  This didn't happen overnight of course, there was a period of pursuit and getting to know each other.  I spent months trying to prove myself, my worth, my intentions.  It was quite a journey.  She was very astute, and had been down this road before.  I was so in love...

Well in the act of sharing my past with this woman, I left out a few details.  At the time, I didn't think too much of it.  It isn't like I sat down and decided to deceive this woman.  In fact, I was much more open with her than I had ever been in the past in my relationships.  My nature has always been a little on the cloak and dagger side of things, and I was actually surprised at how easy it was for me to open up.  Over the months ahead, more and more layers were peeled back in the getting to know each other process.  I had many opportunities to fill in the blanks I had left, but I was worried that these few details would shed me in a lesser light.  I continued to let them slide.

We continued to fall in love.  It was an amazing journey.  It was interesting and challenging at times, every day I loved a little more and every day I felt a little more accepted in the life of this woman.

Well, the details I glossed over eventually came to the surface and I was asked about them.  I was "called out" even, and I finally had the chance set the record straight, and  to pull back that final layer, but out of fear of what I thought would happen, I made up a lie.  I didn't mean to.  I didn't want or intend to.  I just did.  I was transported back in time to being a 5 year old boy with crumbs all over his face when his parents ask if he had swiped a cookie from the cookie jar.  I should know better by now.

Well, over the next months, my lie turned into 2, 5 a dozen.  It was a tailspin I didn't know how to correct.  I saw the crash landing coming, and I knew I would have to come clean, but I knew that this little omission from over a year and a half ago had spun out of control.  I was about to lose my mind over it.  I had a very poor view of myself and my worth in the relationship.  All because I thought i would look a little bit better way back when this topic first came up.  The problem is, what I stood to lose way back then, would have been much easier for me, but more importantly for the woman I had grown to love even more dearly and the woman's children, who I had also become very fond of, and who had become very fond of me.

I know that now she thinks that the man she grew to know, and the man she fell in love with is nothing but a liar.  I am sure she wonders what else I lied about.  I am sure she questions everything I had ever said to her.
The truth is, no other lie had ever passed my lips in our relationship.  Just this one topic.  Just this one secret i refused to let go of.  I didn't give her the ability to decide if she could live with the truth from the beginning, and now i know she can't live with the lies.  I underestimated her.  The heart and compassion of the woman I fell in love with were much bigger than the issue I held back from her.  It may have taken her some time to think about it all.  It may have taken me a little longer to progress along the relationship path with me, but I know she would have acted much differently than I feared when I first pulled the veil across.

Well, now I have come clean.  Through a sequence of circumstances, I proceeded to ruin her birthday, and I knew I had to just get it out.  I have shared the secret in it's entirely.  I have pulled back the veil and let the details I had omitted come to light.  I had let it eat me from the inside for several months, and it was literally robbing me of the tremendous joy that this relationship had provided.  It had taken a toll on her as well, and i hated that it was.  To tell the truth meant losing her.  To keep lying made me feel like a freshly spooned out avocado.  Hollow, flimsy and pretty much useless.

She took it much the way I feared she would way back at the start.  We had been struggling very much lately, mostly because of the hole that was eating me with this half truth and how it had burrowed deeper and deeper into the love I feel for this woman. 

I don't blame her.  What seemed so innocent so many months ago, has cost me the most important thing in my life.  I sit here humbled and ashamed, and pray that the hurt I have caused can be healed.  I doubt that I will ever be welcomed back into the family as I had been, I doubt I will ever again hold the hand of this woman I love so dearly.  I will carry on, bury myself in my work, and play as much hockey as I can, and hope and pray that I have learned this lesson, once and for all.  I will miss what I had.  I will miss the laughter of the most beautiful little girl i have ever had the privilege of knowing.  I will miss the most perfect hug I ever experienced.  I hope I have not done any irreversible damage. 

"What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."- Sir Walter Scott

"We are men of action, Lies do not become us."- Westley

Where is that time machine when we need it?

Math, History, Full Body Pat Down, English- "A day in the life of today's high school student".

OK, first of all, let me say that i know it has been some time since I have posted on the blog.  For those of you who were checking in regularly, I apologize.  I have had a busy last week, getting used to the travel that comes with my job, arranging for a move to a house a few cities away, and lots of other little things that made it difficult to follow through with my goal of writing every day.

I have decided that there are three things I WANT to accomplish every day.  Write, exercise, and read from  book before falling asleep in bed instead of watching TV.   Of course, there are many other thing in the run of a day that I hope to achieve, but generally speaking, if I accomplish these three things, I find that my day stays more on track than if i don't, and i definitely have an easier time falling asleep.

So far, morning has proved a difficult time to write, even though it remains the best option.  Sometimes, days like yesterday come around on the calender and throw a huge monkey wrench in the plans.  I was scheduled to be in Atlantic City by 7:30am to speak in a high school.  I had 7 classes to address, so it was going to be a full day.  I'd have to leave at 5:30am to be there on time, as AC is roughly 90 miles away.  Well, the storm came rolling through on Tuesday night, and classes in AC were delayed two hours, which meant they all got shrunk down from 40 minutes to 25.   It also meant that I had until 9:30 to arrive, but with the snow, my commute went from an hour and a half to about two and a half hours.

This was a bit of a concern, as I am still getting familiar with much of the information I use in my presentations. Chopping out 15 minutes, from an already truncated presentation, basically without having a whole lot of time to go over it, had me a bit flustered.  

Anyway, I spent part of the drive mentally preparing myself, considering how to "reader's digest" my plans for the adjusted schedule.  I arrived at the school at 9:25am.  AC High School has roughly 2300 students who attend.  It's a BIG school.  I parked my car about a 1/4 mile away,which was still only about half way to the end of the parking lot.  It was bitter cold, and the storm was bringing icy winds across the lot.  The Atlantic Ocean surrounded the school grounds on two sides and wasn't being kind this morning.  As I opened the hatchback of my Subaru and began packing my materials to go inside, I looked out across the water and had a funny feeling that the ocean was angry at me, at us, for not canceling school outright today.  The storm had claimed about 98% of the state, closing every other school district in NJ for the day, and  here I stood a few hundred yards away from the mightiest of Mother Nature's elements.  I wondered if it was possible for the ocean to feel emotions.  I giggled a bit at the thought as the Atlantic continued shaking her proverbial fist at me for daring to venture out when she had given us such a beating.  I bet next time she comes even harder.

As I rounded the corner of the school and approached the main entrance, I was a bit perplexed with what I saw.  Hundreds of students were lined up outside, in a few large "huddles".  As I neared them, I heard a voice over the PA say, "All last names starting with D through F".  This prompted one of the huddles to move toward the doors and slither through.  When I got to the entry, a gentleman in a security uniform directed me to the right side, where staff and teachers had been entering.  I got to go in despite my last name starting with a "C".  Being an adult has some mighty fine perks!  I felt a building sense of curiosity about what was going on.  Why were the students all herded together by last name?  Why did they have to stand out in the icy cold before going in?   I walked through the doors, and my curiosity was satisfied.  All 2300+ students had to pass through 4 sets of metal detectors, a pat search and a bag search before being allowed to start their studies each day.  At first I was amazed at the level of security and the efficiency I was observing.  This was no less stringent than what you would see at the airport, although no shoes had to come off.  I was a few minutes early, so I paused and watched all of the remaining of the 2300+ students pass through the check point.  This was more the picture one would expect at a super max prison, or a high level restricted area military area.  I think I actually had to catch my jaw as it dropped, with me staring in awe.  No sooner did the last student pass through and make his way off to his home room, than did I get a huge pit in my stomach.

"What has become of us?"

I know we have all seen flashbacks in the movies, how a shot will fade out with a cloud effect, or a blurry wave will cross the screen and  on the other side the actors are transported back to an earlier point in time.  At this moment, I was brought back to my high school days, and Atlantic City High School was replaced with the foyer at Park View Education Center.  I could see the pop machines and a set of stairs up to the second floor off to the right as I walked in the main entry. The administrative offices lie to the left.  Straight ahead were school jackets, and athletic trophies in the glass cases which separated the cafeteria from the foyer.

I saw students huddled in their cliques,moving about freely, laughing, joking, mostly without a care in the world.  My bus arrived about 30 minutes before first bell, and this was serious social time for me.  I would sometimes play a game of cards, or shoot baskets in the gym.  Sometimes I would just hang out with my girl and make goo goo eyes for half an hour.  Other students crammed in assignments they had put off the night before.  This was actually my favorite time of the day.  Every morning started this way.  I remember vividly many mornings, and many of my friendships being forged more deeply in these moments.  It was a good memory indeed.

The alarm bell rang and brought me back into the present.  There was very little socialization going on among the student before home room here.  Security personnel  lined the hallways, with whistles, like a basketball referee, blowing them with alarming frequency.  It reminded me of watching sheep herding competitions.  "Keep moving!"  "Remove the hoodie!"  "Get to class!"  Whistles were blown following every statement, three, four, five times.  Students listened and when they were the target of an instruction, they knew it and responded quickly.  The halls were cleared within moments and the few stragglers that were still hustling to homeroom when the second alarm bell rang, literally went into dead runs to get where they were supposed to be.

This was very impressive and twice as scary.  It had the efficiency of the most thoroughly planned out military strikes.  This is what our children are forced to go through every morning so they can get the most basic of educations.  What picture does this paint of the world for these young impressionable minds?  How did we get to this point?

Well, unless you have been in complete seclusion the past two decades, you know that these procedures are in place to avoid such tragedies as the very recent and fresh in our minds mass shooting in Arizona.  It all started in 1966 at the University of Texas.  15 people killed by a sniper, including the wife and mother of the shooter, before police marksmen killed him.  I don't recall very much of this stuff of this stuff happening in the 80's.  Maybe I wasn't paying attention, being the teenager that I was, but in '89 the mass shooting in Montreal got seem to have gotten the ball rolling.  More and more frequently, incidents began to stream into news rooms through the 90's. In the the new century we have never had to go too long before the next act of school yard violence got major news coverage, and  claimed more innocent lives.  Whenever I hear the words Ecole Polytech, Columbine, Virginia Tech, I instantly think of the atrocities that occurred there.  These measures are an answer to the question we all ask sometimes:  I wonder where will the next attack happen?  Not at Atlantic City High School. 

Hundreds of lives have been lost at the hands of unstable people holding guns and knives, some armed with bombs.  Families have had loved ones ripped from their lives due to senseless acts of violence.  Schools seem to have become a favorite target for people wishing to do harm in this manner.  So much so that in order to keep the hallways and classrooms safe, metal detectors have been introduced into many schools.  Whistles are blown and orders barked at students who aren't in dress code, or who pause to chat for a moment in the hallways.  Freedoms I took for granted when I was 17, are no longer part of teenager's lives.  The gunmen and women who perpetrated these horrible crimes, not only took innocent lives, but they have changed the world, for the worse, forever.  High schools all over have become super max security prisons, and it is the right thing to do.  While I despise the fact that this is all necessary, I recognize that indeed, it is.

As I finished up my day yesterday at Atlantic City High School, I walked back down to the main entrance to leave, and I passed one of the security personnel, and he said, "Excuse me sir, can i see your visitor's pass?"
I hadn't really thought about it prior to this, but I was wearing a long black overcoat to help keep me protected from the stormy weather.  I was carrying 3 large satchels, and had on a black winter hat, much like you would expect to see a bank robber pull down over his face just before exclaiming, "Everyone get DOWN!"  I didn't blame the gentleman for stopping me.
I dug around in the pockets to find my pass and after fumbling through every pocket it wasn't in before finding it, I handed it to him.  He looked at me, looked at the pass, and said, "Thank you very much Mr. Carey, have a great afternoon."

I looked back at him and took my pass in my left hand and held out my right to shake his.  He took my hand and I looked him in the eye and said, "Thank you sir, for keeping these students safe."

Say a prayer for the schools in our countries people.  They are charged with as important a job as there is in our society.

Presidents Day by Diamond Rio

What is a fair price to pay for an efficient automobile?

My intention when I started this started this project was to write an entry every day, as I sipped on morning coffee and while my dreams of the night before were still fresh in my mind.  I sit here this morning, and I realize that in order to do that, then I have to get myself out of bed a bit earlier than I have been.  I am by no means a late riser, but I am a bit wordy at this point in my writing.  I think I get the point across, but my goal as a writer is to be as clear and concise.  I find myself rambling on a bit, sometimes getting off topic, which adds to the word count pretty quickly.  m Basic math teaches that more words means more time.  Knowing that I have to dedicate at least 90-120 minutes to this task every day, and that I should be getting out on the road by 7:00am or earlier for my job every day, something has to change.  I had thought of switching up writing time to after I get back from my travels, or to the evening after dinner perhaps.  I may yet do one or the other.  For now, there is something about the routine I have laid out that I prefer.  Writing my piece in the morning is like a sunrise jog for my brain.  It gets the juices flowing, and hones my focus, lasting all day long.  It makes me more effective in just about everything I do for the remainder of the day.  So, having said that, tomorrow I am getting up at 5:00!

I have been reading quite a bit about how to host an effective blog in the list few weeks.  I have changed up the design and layout of the site more than a few times because of tips I have read.  Then I had a thought.  "Why am I concerned with what other people are doing?  This blog is about me, and about my readers."

Sure there is advice which would be applicable but lets bring this baby along together, like parents of a new born.  If there are things you would like to see, share with me.  If there are better blog hosts out there than blogger, educate me.  If there are topics of interest that you would like to read about and discuss, suggest them.  I have said that this is a half a million followers project for me.  I mean that, but along the way my vision is for this to become a daily stop, like the evening news, or the "funny pages".  People get up, check emails, look at Facebook and the sports scores, then stop here, at Blunder Years.  I want to increase interaction somehow, and I have had a few people mention that leaving posts here is not as easy as I would like it to be.  I have discovered that in order to post here, or to follow the blog, you have to have register with the Google conglomerate.  If you have G-Mail, then you are all set already, if you don't then, it is a necessary step, to get a Google ID.  I am not one to leverage my readers into this type of thing, but I will say, over the course of my online career, Google is the best free email I have experienced.  I have had Yahoo, Hotmail, Ymail, and a few others, and the only time I stopped looking for a better solution for my personal email, was when I was invited to G-Mail.  So, I have no real problem with saying, go ahead, sign up!  I don't want to make work for anyone, and want the interaction on this page to be as simple and easy as can be, but for now, while I am using Blogger to blog, I ask that you do this.  So far, 9 posts in, I would say I have put in about 30-40 hours of work on writing, and on managing this site.  I am doing this for my own reasons in part.  I am also doing it for you!  The whole process takes less than five minutes to register, and I think i am worth that!!  ;)

Now, I want to open this up for discussion.

I am kind of in the market for a new car.  My new job has me driving all over the southern parts of the Garden State and Delaware, and the Eastern parts of Maryland.  It is a good territory, manageable populace, beautiful pieces of country.  However, I am averaging 150-200 miles on the Forester every time I leave the driveway,  which is about 3-4 times a week.  I will likely be driving between 800 and 1000 miles a week once I add in personal usage.

My dream solution to this would be to own a Tesla Model S with a 300 mile driving range on a full charge.  It is a very nice looking full electric car, which costs in the neighborhood of  55k.  If you have never heard of Tesla, you owe it to yourself to read up on them.  They are the future.  Take a lookie: Tesla Model S
If i ever thought i could afford a 120k car, i would go for the Tesla Roadster.  Electric car technology has come far enough that in my opinion is the wave of the future!

 Tesla Model S

Tesla Roadster

Well, the fact of the matter is, I can't afford a 55 thousand dollar car, let alone a 120k one.  My upper limit is likely 40k, and even that is pushing it.  I tend to land on the frugal side of the fence you know.  I have looked at all the options that are realistic, and I have come up with the Toyota Prius as the most likely candidate: 

The 55 mile per gallon advertised, with many owners reporting over 60, is the real lure of this car.  I would be able to do my 1000 miles a week on 20 gallons of gas.  My current ride gets me 22 miles per gallon on average.  This math would require upwards of 45 gallons of gas to drive for the week.  At $3.00 a gallon,  I am looking at $60.00 a week in the Prius, and $135.00 in the Forester.  Annually, Prius: $3120.00 a year, Forester: $7020.00.

$2900.00 a year difference between the Forester and the Prius. Now, Subaru has announced that starting in 2012, they will be introducing a hybrid Forester.  Projections are that it will get roughly 35 miles per gallon, maybe up to 40.  While I love Subaru, and have owned 3 straight Subaru's, and want to carry on my loyalty to the brand, money talks.

SO the question I need to answer is this: 

While driving a Subaru Forester is not a proclamation of manliness so much as a practical solution to what needs I had at the time of purchase, is putting what is left of my proverbial balls in a jar (which I believe comes standard with all Prius buyers of the male persuasion) and storing them in the glove compartment, really a fair price to pay for the highly efficient hybrid that Toyota offers?

Please help me figure this out.  Are there solutions i am missing?  What thoughts do you have on the matter?

Please register with Google (sorry), and lend your thoughts.

Please don't forget to click on a few of my advertisements also!

Oh, and by the way, GO Canada!

Why I am smarter than Gary Bettman

Day two of 2011.

Day eight of the Blunder Years Blog.

To whomever clicked my ads on here yesterday, thank you!  I earned $3.72 in ONE day!  80 years ago I would have been rich!  If I can find a way to multiply that by 100, I could just write the blog full time!  That would be a dream for sure!

Yesterday was a lazy day,  Got a few chores taken care of.  Took down the tree and put away all the Christmas decorations and cleaned out the basement.  Put in a few hours working on a database I have been poking at for work for the past week.  I think it will take me a good 100 hours plus to get it completed though, ugh.

So far this blog has been used to share some personal stories, and not really to beat my chest too much about anything.  Today is going to be my first rant, and it is about hockey.  I may lose a few of you right here, but I promise not to do this too often.

I am not one that falls for gimmicks easily.  However, I did watch some hockey last night.  Not intently, but I stopped on the Winter Classic broadcast a few times.  I was lucky enough to see all the goals.  I am glad Washington got the third goal to make it 3-1.  It would have been a rough way to lose a game is Fleury's gaff had been the deciding factor.  I have to hand it to the NHL.  I thought that this was a nothing more than a fluff marketing ploy when they first kicked it off in Edmonton those few years back.  After seeing the it's recent successes, I am willing to admit i was wrong.  They have created a marketing goldmine with the Winter Classic.  It is almost NFL-esque.  I am a bit leery about them adding the second outdoor game this year, once a year seems like a perfect frequency.  Once a year people will tune in who don't actually cheer for the teams playing just for the novelty factor.  I do understand they may want to test it out to see if maybe twice would work, but for what reason?   I just hope Bettman doesnt get any bright ideas about bringing the outdoor games to Miami or Phoenix.

Seeing the NHL knock one out of the park with the Winter Classic like this, really makes me wonder where all the smart people are hiding in the head offices the rest of the year.  There is a glaring hole in the NHL's most basic make up these days.  I have been fuming over it ever since it was instilled in the league.  To have this group of NHL executives put together a show as great as the Winter Classic and then for the same folks to allow this major blow to the integrity of the league, leaves me shaking my head in bewilderment. 

I will start by saying that the shootout is just wrong and needs to be removed from the game in it's entirety.  To have contests decided by penalty shots strips away the fiber of the the game. On any given night, teams can win games in any number of ways.  A big hit can swing momentum, a bad bounce can sneak by a goalie, a turnover in the defensive zone, or a brilliant move by a streaking winger can drive the final nail into the casket and decide a game.  On the rarest of occasions, a penalty shot does decide the winner.  The thing is, that no matter what single play decided the outcome, so many things have to either go right, or go wrong in the flow of play for the one single play to have actually happened .  Physical, emotional and intellectual battles are fought every minute on the ice, and their outcomes go a long way to deciding the victors.  A penalty shot awarded in the flow of the game was earned by a team making a good play, and the other team needing to break the rules in order to stop them from scoring.  In this instance, a penalty shot is as exciting as anything in sport.  Having said this, penalty shots are a tiny piece of the whole.  Using "free" penalty shots to decide games would be like major league baseball deciding games with a home run contest.  It would be like the NFL deciding games by seeing which team can kick field goals from the farthest distance, or it would be like the NBA having a three point contest to break ties.  Of all the legitimate major sports out there, Hockey is the only one to use gimmickry to determine victory.  Hockey is a TEAM game, and to place such emphasis on a 3 man shootout, which involves 4 players from each team, isn't in the spirit of the game.  It isn't fair to the other 16 guys on each bench, and it certainly robs any genuine fan of the game of any true resolution.  This is my opinion of course, not everyone shares it.  Most debate about the shootout ends here however.  What needs to be looked at in depth, is what happens after a shootout.

In the NHL, the winning team is awarded two points toward their standings.  The losing team is awarded no points.  Of course this is only true if the game is decided in regulation.  If regulation ends, then the integrity of the game goes right out the window, and that same game, which was worth two points a minute before the clock runs out, magically becomes worth three points now.  The winner still gets two, whether they close it out in the five minute sudden death period, or if they win it in the shootout.  The NHL used to award one point to each team in the event of a tie.  When they instilled the overtime period, they awarded one additional point to the victors, but they let the losers keep the point they would have earned under the old laws.  For decades, when a team was battling for a playoff spot, they could count on all the games being worth 2 points.  If a team was sitting one place out of the playoffs, and the two teams above them were playing each other, they knew that one team would get 2 points or both teams would get one.  Now, the teams ahead in the standings, could potentially distribute three points between them, instead of two, making it all the more difficult to get back in the race.   All they have to do it go to overtime.

If the NHL made divisional or even inter conference games worth 3 points, that would make more sense, Realistically however, in a perfect arrangement, all games would carry equal value, regardless of the opponent or the length of game.

OK, another break from factual evidence to offer my opinion.

This can be fixed in one of two ways.  I'm not talking about the overtime, or the shootout here, I am talking about the gaping hole in the way points are currently being awarded.
1- Go back to the old ways.  Give two points for a win, none for a loss.  DO not award the extra point .
2- Make ALL games worth three points.  You would earn three points if you win in regulation, and if you reach overtime/shootout you would use the current arrangement of two points for the winner and one for the loser.

No other system keeps the integrity of the game in place.  Unless you wanted to go to the MLB/NBA/NFL ways and scrap points altogether and just use winning percentages to determine things.  I like points, and I prefer that the league use a better overtime format, going from five minutes of 4-4, to five minutes of 3-3, and even down two 2-2 and 1-1 if it gets that far, then let it run until there is a winner.   You want excitement in overtime?  Try this format.


So, in conclusion,  I am going to put the vote up to you, my readers.  What say you?  Comments please, and vote in the new poll on this subject matter.

Oh, and by the way, when i asked Gary Bettman about this, he crinkled his forehead, rolled his eyes up in the top of his head, said, "Hmmmmmmm," follwed by a long pause, and continued with, "Ummmmmmmmmmm."

He made this face, and some  noises like a chimpanzee and ran out of the room swinging his arms back and forth over his head.
 =-)

Every moment provides a do-over for the previous

OK, I cheated yesterday.  I used the lure of booze and sex to pull in a higher hit count for the day.  You were all part of a secret squirrel social science experiment.  My thinking was on track, but I admit, I thought my bogus title would have more of an effect on my hits than usual.  Here is a rundown on the page views for Blunder Years before yesterday's post:

December 24th: 3 veiws
December 25th: 45 veiws
December 26th: 46 veiws
December 27th: 102 veiws
December 28th: 95 veiws

Now, with the title I used yesterday, I admit I didn't give as much credit as I should have to the general public.  I actually thought promises of free beer and sex would entice my friends into tripling the hits on the blog.  I was expecting 300!  Well, while the hits did spike, I am impressed that my Facebook, twitter and LinkdIn friends aren't quite as degenerate as I thought.  Congratulations!  The blog had 168 page views.  So was it worth it to " jump the shark'?  Perhaps some of that extra readership will stick around and join the party on a regular basis.  There were several visitors to the blog who read more than yesterday's post while they were here.  So while my projections didn't come true, I hope that I have gained a few more loyal readers.  That, after all, is the goal; half a million followers or bust!  So, if you haven't signed up to follow this blog, please do.  Also, click on ad link or two.  I work hard writing this, and all I ask is if you like what I'm doing, if you are entertained, help pad my click through's!

So, now that yesterday's subject matter is closed, lets get going on today's:

Last night was TREMENDOUS.  My first Crown Roast.  I promised a picture of the finished product, so here goes:

I LOVE pork to begin with,  more than any other meat I think, and this just solidified it for me.  This was SO tender, so succulent, that I was entirely impressed.  My compliments to the cook!  The rest of the meal and the evening was just as lovely.  The hostess was gracious, elegant, and looked especially lovely.  The company was fun, the banter witty, and I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year!  Thanks so much!

My last meal of 2010 was truly  memorable.  It capped a memorable year indeed.


2010 was certainly an interesting year for me.  I probably learned more about myself in this calender year than in any other in my 40 years.  The process of discovery was not an easy one.  I had heard the analogy many times in the past that in order to make the surface smooth, you need to do a lot of sanding.  2010 was a sandpaper year.  I entered the year with the dark cloud of a soon-to-expire-employment contract hanging over my head.  The last few months of my junior hockey coaching career were sweet indeed as I had a group of young men who came together and fought through some pretty tremendous adversity, to play some of the best hockey I have ever had the pleasure of coaching.  The team rode a high into the playoffs, and soundly beat our round one opponent.  In round two, we faced our arch nemesis, and soundly whipped them as well.  This put us in the final against the league's offensive juggernaut, who we had beaten twice in a weekend series a few months prior.  They lost 4 games all year and we handed them 2 of those defeats in one weekend.  Well, the finals ended with us on the wrong end of a 6-4 score, but we outplayed them in every category, except for the one that counted.  It was a tremendous end to a tremendous season and career.  Bittersweet really, as now I had to move on and find a real, grown-up job.  It took me nine months of trial and error.  In those nine months, I experienced some of the most challenging times of my life.  I never hit the proverbial "rock bottom", but I was as close as I had ever been.  I believe in myself, and that never ceased for even a moment, but I made some crucial decisions and was too pig headed to admit that I had made a few huge mistakes.  Well, as difficult a trial as it was, I learned so very much about myself, and about people, and about life in the real world.  I can't help but be thankful.  I don't think I would ever want to re-live 2010, but I know it will go a long way toward my future prosperity in all facets of my life.

So today, as I look back on 2010, I see the intelligent design, and I am thankful.  I would like to think that all my rough edges have been worked away with the sandpaper that was 2010.  That would be assuming too much however.  I realize that I am a continuous work in progress, and there will be no end to that process for all my days. 

So, now I have the task of deciding upon my goals and ambitions for 2011.

My mom has Facebook.  Just about everyday she posts something inspirational for all her family and friends to read.  A few days ago, she summed up my entire "now".   I had been looking for a quote to dedicate to my new year, and had actually decided on one, but when I saw my mom's wall, I had a discovery moment. 

"No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending" (Unknown)

Simple, effective, powerful, and perfect for 2011.  No matter where I find myself at any time, this quote has the power to thrust me forward.  Even if things are going great, applying this quote can enhance even that.  Basically it means that we don't need New Year's to make a resolution. 

Every moment provides a do-over for the previous.   

If you are in a rut at work, if you have been putting off starting a new hobby, if you haven't been able to find the words to say to someone special in your life, this quote should empower you to pull yourself out of that rut, pick up that paintbrush, and say, "I love you."  Armed with this quote there is no excuse for every day not being better than the last.  Sure these are just words, but if you stamp them on your heart, and apply them to your inner most psyche, things will start going your way, and fast.

My resolution for 2011 is:  I resolve to make every day better than the last, for myself, my loved ones, my boss and co-workers, and basically for everyone I touch in the run of my day, everyday. 

Oh yeah, I also resolve to promote my blog shamelessly and by all means available until I reach my goal of half a million followers!  

Happy New Year everyone.  May God bless you with peace, happiness, joy and health.  Now click my ads!

This one little tip gets me all the free sex and beer I could ever want.

Long ago, I set a goal for myself of writing a book. I figured that is I was going to be a real, professional, paid novelist, it would be kind of integral in the process.  The thing is, writing is hard.  Like any other skill, it takes years of tireless consistent practice to hone, and no matter how seasoned and efficient you get, no matter how great a writer you become, your success lies in the hands of many people whose interest is not quite as vested as yours;  your editor, your publisher, your publicist, and finally, your readership.  Each one of these can be a massive mountain to traverse.  Breaking into the writing business, undertaking anything really, can seem an impossibility if we sit back and think of all the battles to be fought, and hurdles to be overcome.

This is why I have started writing this blog.  Adding a daily entry will help me get in the habit of writing, improve my keyboarding skills, and set a foundation for my "style".   In my dreams, this thing is going to take off, get half a million followers, and I'll be able to walk into any publishing house in NYC and demand a huge advance before I ever write a page of my first novel.  Or better still, the publishing houses will come looking for me!   I could start a bidding war for my first novel BEFORE I ever scribe a single sentence!

OK, bad memory recall here... but this is what I wanted to write about today, while the above may be true, it is just a segue to the story i wanted to share.  "I could start a bidding war, over me"...  remember that phrase.

OK, step into my time machine and set the dial for February 1989.

I was in 12th grade and winter carnival was fast approaching.  Someone had the bright idea of doing a "pie in the face auction" at lunch period in the cafeteria to raise money for graduation.  It was a brilliant concept.  "Problem" students bid on the vice principle in charge of discipline.  "Jocks" would bid on their coaches who just made them run wind sprints all practice, female student would all want to bid on the cute english teacher right of college who always quoted poetry in class.  Just about every teacher you could put up on the block would generate a flurry of bidding activity for some reason or another.  Revenge, attraction, simple admiration, the reasons could be endless.  The senior class was going to pay for the whole prom with this one event!  I was on the prom committee, and I have to admit, we were totally thrilled with this idea.  We had tried bake sales, car washes, raffle after raffle, and at this point i think we were at about 25% of our goal.  If this went off like we thought it would, we could reach our fund-raising goal in one fell swoop, and I could stop trying to peddle chocolate bars outside of Zellers on friday nights.

Sometimes crucial moments in our lives happen and remain suspended in our memory forever.  These moments can recalled and relived over and over like they JUST happened for decades.  Moments like your very first kiss, or, I'd imagine finding out for the very first time that you were going to be a parent.  We become acutely aware of every detail of our surroundings, the smells, sounds and colors, and we have those instant replays right there for the rest of our lives.  Tremendous triumphs trigger this for me, however, so to devastating defeats.

There we were, all set to dismiss the meeting and seek out the teachers to get on board for the auction when Adageo VanMilligan said these life altering words:

"If we are going to make all this quick dough off the teachers, let's put a bunch of students up for bid too!"

He wore a green sweater.  These was stirring outside the room as students passed by carrying books, holding hands, chattering about the morning class and the weekend parties.  The desks were lined up in a 3/4 circle facing each other.  I could smell the "almost-chicken parmesan", which was the entree of the day in the cafeteria for lunch.  Maryanne was on my right and next to her, John, then Michelle, Cory, Alex, Paul and Deidre.  Jerry was on my left, followed by the other Maryanne, Adageo, Patty and Christine.  There were student projects pinned to the wall in front of me displaying the foods of various regions of the world. The carpet was red.  The room was painted in an off white, like the color used in hospital hallways.  I felt a chill run up my left arm, tickling every hair as it shot up to the shoulder and skipped through my neck.  As Adageo was speaking these words, the sky grew very dark, and just as he completed this fateful sentence, thunder rolled off in the distance.  At the time I never thought much of it all, I mean we did live in Nova Scotia, and the weather changed rather quickly and just as frequently.  Looking back now, I recognize it as a warning from God.

I wish I had said, "Shut up Adageo", instead of letting greed move my lips more to the tune of, "That sounds great man!"

Well, we brainstormed to come up with the students we would put up for bid along with the teachers and staff.  Park View Education Center was made up of over 1000 students, so it was very important to select not just the right amount students and only those who would bring in big bucks.  We decided on a dozen.  Homecoming king and queen, hall monitors, a few potential valedictorians, we could appeal to the same emotions that would drive the bids up on the teachers.  Sex appeal, revenge, even hatred might just translate into a better band at prom, more grandiose decorations, a nice selection of finger sandwiches.  This was all becoming SO easy!

So we decided on 11 students after an hour or so of brainstorming.  We would get them to agree to it by any means necessary,  school spirit being first sell, then the spotlight, heck, we'd even bribe them if it came to that.  There wasn't much PVEC students wouldn't do for one of the cafeteria's strawberry milkshakes.  A pie in the face was certainly an easy price to pay for such a treasure.  So 11 were in the bag, and we seemed to have run out of steam.  After another hour of less effective brain storming, I made the mistake of opening my mouth yet again.

"If we can't decide on a 12th, I'll do it."

I was kind of a big man on campus.  Captain of the Hockey and Track teams.  Involved in several other extra curricular activities, I had a really good looking girlfriend, so I thought that  there had to be someone out there who hated me, or was jealous enough of my high school success to part with a few bucks to get even.  "I'll go last," I said, "you know, save the real prize to close the show," I said arrogantly.  Sometimes it is better to just keep your mouth closed.  I wish I had learned that lesson the day before this meeting.

A week later, auction day came.  We had 20 people up for auction.  10 adults, and 10 students.  For a potential crowd of over 1000, that seemed reasonable.  Some of the dozen students we tried to convince declined the offer, despite the milkshake bribe, but we felt that we could still exceed our goal.  Students had been pooling their money, and whispers of some of the auctionees going for over $500.00 had been heard by a few of the grad committee.

One by one, we put them up on the stage, and we told the students why they should hate or love them enough to bid, and we were AMAZED at how things went.  The first person we put up was Cute English Teacher.  The bidding was furious, and so were many of the boyfriends of the girls bidding.  His price flew past the $500.00 dream right out of the park and went to a group of freshmen ladies who had pooled their cash for over $600.00!

Then we put up the homecoming queen.  The girls who lost out on Mr. Poetry, used the cash they saved to win this one to the tune of over $400.00, outbidding homecoming queens boyfriend, who put up a good show, but was secretly happy to lose.  The girls had a great time shoving the pie into perfect makeup and hair.  Homecoming Queen left the stage looking like a wet dog to a HUGE round of applause and laughter,

Down the list we went.  Bidders were having a genuine good time.  Pictures were taken for the yearbook,  I don't think there was one single student anywhere else in the school.  This event was going even better than we ever imagined, and we had some pretty high expectations.    The basketball coach went for $300.00, The Librarian for $250.00, Valedictorian even topped $200.00.  Before I had the chance to get on the stage, We had raised over $3000.00!  The top bid getters were actually tied.  The Vice Principal went for $750.00 and the sultry female french teacher who never wore a slip and loved to stand in front of the windows matched that, The Nerd Herd got her, and i think it was the closest thing they all ever got to being luck to this day!

Finally, it was my turn to get up on the stage.  The whole process was going very smoothly by now.  I was introduced, and the MC gave lots of reasons to make students want to bid on me.  I remember thinking he may be going overboard quite a bit actually.  I was convinced i could fly cure cancer by the time he was finished.  He opened the bidding and just like that, all of a sudden, in a room full over over 1000 people, the only noise made was coming from a cricket who had found his way in the school before the frost hit, and had avoided capture by crawling under the dishwasher in the kitchen.  What, in reality was only a few moments seemed like the longest month of my life.    No one bid on me.  Not one person.  The silence was deafening.  Has they already spent all their money?  Yes, that HAD to be it.  I mean, the valedictorian got $200.00, come on!  My friends started snickering, enjoying the moment a great deal in fact.  The horrified look on my face was the gasoline being tossed on a fire.  Soon enough the whole school was roaring in laughter at me.  It was "Carrie" all over again, without the pig's blood of course, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't rain fire down on the crowd and incinerate the taunts and taunters alike.  At that point, this was definitely the  worst moment of my entire life.  Worse than getting "pansted" at the pool by my aunt when I was 12 in front of the entire Carey clan.  Worse then when my mom found the picture of Christine Pernette which I had cut out of the 3rd grade class picture and decorated with hearts and "Xs and Os".  In fact I would gladly have relived every other time I had wanted to go be able and crawl in a hole and die a hundred times, to make this moment end. 

Then after forever, from somewhere in the back, a voice cried out, "$1000.00!"  Adageo VanMilligan had run around to every cell of bidding groups who had fallen short in their efforts, and convinced them to "donate" to the cause.  "$1000.00", he repeated, screaming now, in order to be heard above the laughter.  Seizing the opportunity, the auctioneer slammed down his gavel and yelled, "SOLD!" 

I often try to imagine what direction my life would have taken had Adageo not done what he had done.

Later on I learned that the guys on the hockey team had planned the crowd's silencing.  I don't know how they kept it from me and still got the message out to the other 1000 students, and staff, but I have to hand it to them.  They got me.  They got me good. 

Maybe creating a bidding war for myself is not the thing I really want to do after all?


;-)


Oh, and the free sex and beer, well tune in tomorrow for that tip.

Be careful what you take for granted, especially the little things

Of course we all know better than to take loved ones for granted, or weather, or reliability of your car when you are running late already.  In this day and age it is becoming more and more obvious that even taking your job and home for granted are no-nos.  Alas, I do not wish to comment about all that serious, life lesson stuff so much.  If you are taking your mother, or spouse or parents or kids for granted, shame on you, stop it right now!

There are a thousand obvious things not to take for granted that we can all list off without putting in too much thought.  There are more subtle things that you have to actually miss before realizing how precious they were.  These things may be in the beauty of nature around us, perhaps the way the sun casts a gorgeous glowing stripe across the water as it sets, or the way the Lilly of the Valley fills the air  with the sweetest of perfumes for the few days in May when they are in season.  We certainly cannot take our youth for granted.  Eventually everyone's skin sags and wrinkles, bones become more brittle and joints ache.  Unless you are Joan Rivers, and there is only one of her, I hope.  I think she has had every procedure known to man at this current time and has a team of doctors on payroll thinking up new ones!

 

SCARY!!!

OK, Joan seems to have a problem with growing older, but in my opinion, she looks more and more like demon-spawn than human these days.  I wonder how much Joan has spent on plastic surgery and Botox over the past millennium to "look this good?"

I guess I should get back on track here.  The things I want to speak about are things that I took for granted when I was younger.  This will probably spawn (thanks for the segue Joan) a few stand alone blog entries in the future, One of which will be the "Pizzas of Nova Scotia".  NYC and Chicago have NOTHING on the pies made in NS!  There are more than a few other products of Canada that I know I took for granted from the days of my youth in Nova Scotia.  These are things I make a bee line to go get when I am home visiting.

Sorry for the random preambles!   Here goes:

Who doesn't love chocolate?  Even dogs, who DIE if they eat it, can't stop themselves!  I am so tired of the INFERIOR offerings here in the USA, I can't remember the last time I bought a candy bar.  Truly, Canadian candy bars kick the living crap out of their American counterparts.  Here are some MUST tries for my Yankee friends when you find yourself traveling in the Great White North:

-Coffee Crisp is my all time fave.  A nice light snack, wafers, chocolate, and a wonderful layer of coffee flavored goodness.  There is nothing similar in the US, and nothing under heaven compares.

-Wunderbar is second best and delicious, and filling.  Chocolate, peanut butter and caramel with something crunchy which I have never been able to define really.

-Crunchie competes the trifecta of perfection in candy bars for me.  This is English sponge toffee with a layer of delicious chocolate, all of which will melt in your mouth.  This is also not comparable to ANYTHING in the US.

-Smarties are superior to M&Ms in every way, but they don't offer varieties like peanut or almond.  :(

-Caramilk (BEST COMMERCIALS EVER! google "caramilk commercials" and enjoy.  These are almost as good as the product itself)
The list goes on to include Oh Henry, Areo, Crispy Crunch, Mr. Big, Mars Bar, and Cadbury Fruit and Nut which is the only one i have been able to find in US grocery stores.
I guess I should be thankful for the fact that I don't have access to all of these all the time here in the US.  I am sure I would be 300lbs if I did!  You can get these treats here if you want to try a few varieties:   Canadian Chocolate Bars

Shreddies.  I know this isn't a complete sentence, but every maritime kid has eaten their share of Shreddies, probably so much that they grew sick of them at some point.  "Good Good Whole Wheat Shreddies."  I was at the border crossing a few years back, heading back to Maine after visiting my parents.  I had picked up about 15 boxes of Shreddies and they were in the hatch back of my car.  I was nervous that the guard would discover them and think I was starting an illegal importation operation.  In fact, until I discovered the Kashi line of cereals about 3 years ago, I missed Shreddies, almost as much as I missed Alexander Keith's Light beer!

Alexander Keith's Light can be added to my list for sure as well.  There is no "more drinkable" commercial beer  than this, anywhere, and it is only available in eastern Canada..  I actually have to thank this happenstance for developing my hobby of home brewing.  If I had been able to buy Keith's Light locally, I doubt I would ever have tried to brew my own ale at home, which I now enjoy a tremendous amount.

While I have seen and tried "Gyros" here in the US, they are really no substitute for the wonderful little creatures indigenous to the maritimes, known as donairs.  What is a donair?  Flat Bread, Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, carved smoked meat, and donair sauce, which made from milk, sugar and white vinegar.  There are many variations of this basic offering, but the secret is in the sauce.  How do you know a good donair from an average one?  I call it the three day test.  The BEST donairs will leave you with tasty burps for a long time after you push yourself away from the counter where you devoured it.  King of Donair  has several locations in Halifax/Dartmouth, and also in Bridgewater,  King of Donairs however, in Yarmouth may have stayed with me longer than any other donair I have ever had.  Three days was a breeze(literally).  Donairs are a regional treat not to be missed.
-Pictou County Pizza is as unique as anything you will find in Nova Scotia.  It is pizza, but what they have done with the sauce is simply divine.  It is brown, almost green, and has a complexity of flavors and sweetness and spices that makes this one of the best varieties of pizza I have EVER tried.  You can find purveyors of this delicious treat all over Nova Scotia, but it is best to make a drive to Stellarton and visit Sam's on South Foord Street.  No self proclaimed Pizza aficionado should miss this.
-My favorite pizza in the world, ever, bar none, is from a little place in Lunenburg called Big Red's Family Restaraunt, on Montague Street.  At one point there were Big Red's locations in Bridgewater, Mahone Bay, Chester and Western Shore.  I think the Chester location remains, but the best bet is to visit the original.  Why do I love Big Red's?  In part I have great childhood memories there.  In reality though, I have childhood memories all over Nova Scotia.  So, once again, it's the sauce.  It hits your tongue with a delicious sweetness as you chew your first bite, and just as you are about to swallow, you get a hint of heat rising to just the right amount.  The effect it has is amazing and makes it the best pizza ever, regardless of topping.

The last thing I am going lament is Crescent Beach.

 

Looks nice eh?

For the four days of summer Nova Scotia gets every year, there is really no place better?  Sure Risser's has a nice boardwalk and a nice snack shack offering ice cream, and Green Bay has much better parties at night, BUT Crescent Beach is open to vehicles!  Just watch out for the dogs(also allowed) and children, but otherwise, vroom-vroom!  Careful though, salt water with rust the under-workings of your car in a New York minute.

This is my longest blog so far, and the first time I have added photos, which is FUN, and although I could continue on, I should leave something for tomorrow.  By the way, IF you are reading this, why not sign up to follow me, at least click on the ads a few times.  So far I have made 3 cents with my clicks on the ads and they send checks monthly.  I'd at least like to be able to buy a pop with my earning every month!  Eh? 

Yum!?!

I have been introduced to a lot of new wonderful yummy food over the past two years.  I grew up with a pretty traditional diet for the area I lived in, consisting of meat, potatoes, pasta, and lots of stuff grown in our garden, raised in our barn, or caught in the nearby Atlantic Ocean.  My mom claims that she did not know the difference between a frying pan and a colander when she married my dad, but by the time I happened along, she had it nailed pretty good.  While we didn't have many of the finer things growing up, we never went hungry, even if it did mean peanut buttered toast as the main entree occasionally.  My mom was particularly good at making Tuna Loaf, Meat Loaf, and made a damn good home made brown bread, and her scalloped potato dish, I still crave from time to often. I think i am still trying to burn off calories from her divine Whoopie Pie  and gingerbread recipes.  Mom put a lot of love in her cooking and I wish I could give her a HUGE hug to thank her for all the hard work right now.

Occasionally, I would eat at friend's homes.  I generally never remember being overwhelmed with anything any better than what I was eating at home.  There was Mrs. Sawatsky's spiral honey ham however, which I remember very fondly and my grandmother Aucoin's meatloaf may have been a bit better than mom's, but barely if at all.  I have to give props:  I had a very talented mom when it came to whipping up dinner.

Well, I moved to Princeton, NJ last April, and brought along my maritime palette.   I never really thought that I was missing out on much, I mean I never had any problem finding food I liked to eat.  I had my own adaption of mom's greatest hits, I had my gourmet Kraft Dinner (add 2 sliced fried hot dogs, and ketchup instead of butter, or just add a can of solid white tuna to the box recipe- TRY THEM !). I actually make the BEST spaghetti  sauce ever made by anyone in the world, so I was doing OK.  I might pick up a loaf of artisan bread from time to time, some cold cuts, and salad bags, and I thought I was living pretty good.  Ignorance, as they say, is bliss.

Since moving here, I have been exposed to the other side of the tracks however, more of a European fare.  Just last night, while cooking dinner, the extra virgin olive oil dripped empty, and I had to use plain old vegetable oil!  I was horrified!  Truth is, 24 months ago, I had NEVER used olive oil for anything besides a vinaigrette dressing!  I fried everything in vegetable oil.  I didn't really know any better.  Besides, vegetable oil was less than half the price of the cheapest extra virgin olive oil.  I should have learned the lesson a long time ago, I mean, I knew from how poorly the bargain toilet paper performed, and how icky no-name ketchup is, that sometimes, the finer things are worth a few extra bucks.  The proof is in the pudding! 

Olive oil is just the beginning.  The European way of cooking won me over very quickly!  From the simple schnitzel to the complex roasts to the much less sugary desserts, paint me impressed!  Roasted loin, both pork and beef.  raclette, fondue...  croque monsieur,  the list goes on every time I try something new.  For New Years Eve, we have planned a menu with my very first crown roast as the centerpiece.  I plan to take a picture of it an share it here! 

I have learned to make as much of this stuff as I can on my own, and I will continue to soak up the knowledge as fast as I can.  I always thought myself quite limber in the kitchen, but recently I have been able to add what are now some of my all time favorite dishes to my repertoire.  

So is there a lesson to learn in this?  I was happy with my eyes closed.  There is nothing wrong with that
I suppose.  Many live their whole life this way, and are truly happy.  I would recommend that we keep an open mind, or palette, in this case.  You never know what may tickle your fancy.   

Things I have learned this past year.

Regardless of whether I viewed the page 85 or 99 times myself even, my blog has reached 100 page views!

And I thought that it would be tough to get my readership built up!

Today I don't really have anything specific on my mind to write about, but I thought I might take a little time and share a few lessons I have learned, or re-learned in the past year.  The past 12 months have been a whirlwind of sorts to say the least, but a process which has taught me much about life.  If you think you know it all by 30, you are in for a surprise!  I am officially 40 years, two months and 3 days old now.  The biggest thing I learned in this past year, is that I still don't know squat.  I don't know squat about life, my friends, my career, and most of all, I don't know squat about myself!  So, here goes, in no particular order of importance or anything.

-My family is awesome and I regret deeply that I live so far away from them. 
-I still love hockey just as much as I did when i was in Pee Wee and before, even if I can't play all the time anymore.
-I am far more domestic than I ever thought possible.
-Some people lie, even when it doesn't really advantage them in any way to do so.
-Some people will truly give the shirts off their back to anyone in need at any time.
-People are generally good, and will forgive, except for those who lie for no reason, they are not to be trusted.
-There is nothing greater in all the world than to be looked upon with the adoring eyes of a child.
-There is a God.  He is as big as we will let Him be.
-Having nothing makes you appreciate the things that you should appreciate, even when you have everything.
-Money is nice to have, but it is also dangerous to have if you lack a clear direction and purpose in your life.
-Being employed in a real, genuine job is just frickin awesome!
-Hard work, either on the job or at play, makes me feel great about myself and helps me sleep at night.
-There is no better time of day to be awake that just before dawn.
-Pro athletes make FAR too much money.  Why? No one ever promised athletes that they didn't have to work after their careers ended.  (This will be a feature post in the near future, watch for it!)
-Painting is amazing food for the soul.
-Xbox 360 Kinect may be the single most amazing piece of home technology since the flush toilet.
-Life is the greatest gift we could ever receive.
-It is OK to admire men, but don't forget that even the men you admire are merely men.
-Having a small, 6 inch by 8 inch gadget that allows one to carry around 15000 books at once might even be more amazing that the Xbox 360.  
-Love is the salt of existence. 

Some of these truths I learned the easy way.  Some of them I learned the hard way.  Do you have anything you would like to add?  Have you had a realization or two you would like to share?  I dare someone to leave me my first comment!  I dare someone to share as I have!  Take a few moments during the week between Christmas and the week between New Year's to reflect on your past year.  Are you happy where you are?  Are you en route to happiness if you aren't?  I hope you answered yes to one of those questions.  If you didn't take more than a few moments and ask yourself why.

A Day Late? F U mother nature!

Mother nature was a day late, or maybe two!  Yesterday afternoon, central NJ got blanketed in about a foot of snow that Santa could most certainly have used to his advantage just one day prior.  There is something about snow and Christmas that seems right.  I say this, but I must preface by adding, I am not a snow person by any means.  I grew up playing hockey, so the cold doesn't really bother me all that badly, but the snow..  Grrrr.  I guess my disdain for it began when  I spent my college years in Victoria's Corner, New Brunswick, Canada.  Annually we would see snowfall that exceeded 12-15 feet, or 3-4 meters for my Canadian and European friends.  That amounts to about 20 one foot snowfalls during the winter months.  It would start in late November and not end until March.  I can remember being on "Snow Detail" one winter.  At New Brunswick Bible Institute, students had to perform "Gratis" as part of the course of study.  It basically was a way for the school to get free labor for all the menial tasks around the campus, like washing dishes, milking the cows, general maintenance, basic custodial, waitstaff in the dining room, and the list goes on.  The school claimed it went a long way to keeping costs of tuition down, which was great for me as I had to pay my own way through college, so I gladly pitched in.  There were some "elite" Gratis jobs, like Audio/Visual, or Yearbook, but 90% of it was down and dirty manual labor on some level.  Being on work crew meant you got to rake leaves in the fall, weed gardens in the spring, and SHOVEL SNOW all winter long.  A winter semester on work crew would see you shovel about 4 times the snow that most people in the world shovel in their lifetime.  On really bad storms, we would pull guys off other Gratis's and arm them with a shovel too!  It got pretty bad at times.  Storms would last for 3 days, even longer, and the shoveling was endless.  I was blessed in my time there with what I considered to be pretty good Gratis postings.  I had custodial  one semester, vacuuming the main office another, dish washing a couple of semesters.  I had clean up in the dairy barn after the milkers were finished, and one semester of dorm bathrooms which was probably was probably my least favorite post, but even that was warm and inside. I thought as I was entering my final year that I would escape the dreaded "Work Crew" post altogether.  Winter semester saw me placed on dairy clean up for the second time.  Two weeks into it, however, I was informed that I was being pulled from dairy and placed on work crew.  One of the guys on work crew had hurt his shoulder and could no longer meet the demands of tossing New Brunswick snow off the sidewalks, porches and doorsteps of the campus.  He was going to take over dairy clean up and I was going to hold down his spot and carry his shovel for the remainder of the semester.  It took me about 3 minutes of shoveling in that first snowstorm to decide I would hate snow for the rest of my life. 

Fast forward to my first home ownership experience.  I decide to buy a house in Sabattus, ME.  Great place really, lots of yard for the dogs, beautiful pond in the back to go for a swim in, wood lined lot with direct access to great hiking, mountain biking and running trails in the Summer and Fall.  In the winter is snowed.  Of the four winters I lived there, I went through dozens of belts on my snow blower.  I actually went through two snow blowers, had to get the driveway paved in order to better deal with the snow, and had a hell of a time keeping up with the endless string of winter storm after winter storm.  It wasn't quite as bad as it was in New Brunswick, but in NB, there was a team of 20-30 guys in their physical prime tackling the job.  In Sabattus, it was me.  And if the Snow blower crapped out, it was a hell of a job to get through the snow at the end of the driveway, that was constantly piled up by the passing plows.  Last time I went to the doctor for a check up he told me I was in excellent health:  great blood pressure, great cholesterol levels, maybe a few lbs over where he would like to see me, but overall excellent, except for one thing: that I had the back of a 70 year old man.   I thank the Maine Department of Transportation for that.

So this storm kind has me a bit ticked off at mother nature.  Funny gal she is eh?  I decided a long time ago that I hate snow, in any amount.  Apologies to the ski and sled enthusiasts, but I just don't need the hassle.  I drive a lot for work, I enjoy walking and jogging on the sidewalks and in the woods, Snow makes all of these difficult.  So I hate snow. Except for Christmas.  On Christmas, snow adds to the wonderful magic of the season.  The rest of the year, screw off.  I have found a solution though to much of my problem.  As I sit and write this in front of a warm fire sipping mid morning coffee, 10 Hispanic men (I mean nothing by that by the way, its just the truth) are out shoveling my driveway and walk way and clearing the sidewalk in the neighborhood.  I will thank them when they are finished. 

Presents and Pucks! What a wonderful time of year

I was very fortunate to grow up in Canada.  I loved hockey, so it just fit.  I am not sure if I loved hockey BECAUSE I grew up in Canada, or if my love was a product of my environment.  It doesn't matter either way to me really, I am just thankful for all the joy that loving hockey has provided for me from the first time I strapped on a pair or skates and chased the puck down the ice, right up until this afternoon when I plan to brew a nice pot of peppermint tea and tune into the IIHF U20 Tournament, more commonly known as the World Junior Hockey Championships.  Thank God for cable TV by the way! 

Growing up Canadian was wonderful for many reasons, most of which I won't get into, you have to experience it to understand.  Christmas is a wonderful tie of year, no matter what country you call home, but in Canada, as soon as the gifts are unwrapped and played with, and put on the shelf so the house isn't a mess when company comes over, they have Boxing Day, which rivals Black Friday as a shopping day with amazing sales and huge crowds, and when you grown up in a small town, you make a point of heading to gatherings like this.  The Malls would be bustling, the shops a buzz, I always told my parents we should delay Christmas at our house until the 27th, so the dollar could stretch further by taking advantage of the Boxing Day sale.  You could get Christmas ornaments for a song, popular Christmas toys half off, there was always a great deal at all the restaurants in town.  It was as Canadian as toques and beer.  Boxing day was extra special to the hockey fan.  This is the day that our countries future heroes started the pursuit of the Gold Medal at the IIHF U20 Tournament.  In Canada, this is bigger than March Madness, bigger that the World Cup, and if Canada made it to the finals, the TV ratings would make Americans seem disinterested in the Superbowl by comparison.  This is an entire country united by the purest form of sport.  Amateurs playing for national pride, and maybe a little bit to increase their draft position, but rarely do you see selfish play by the Canadian squad at the World Jr's.  Rarely do you ever hear a coach in a press conference after a game say, "We lacked emotion."   How refreshing it that?  In a world where so many athletes play for "me first" seeing a group of young men, unpaid, and giving it every ounce to bring glory back to the great country of Canada, to me is the purest form of sport remaining in this day and age.  If you haven't ever had the pleasure of watching this tournament, you would be doing yourself a favor by tuning in.  The NHL network now covers it in the US, and TSN in Canada.  You can also watch the games streamed online for free through the IIHF website.

Now that Christmas has passed, do yourself a favor today.  If you are living in Canada, go take advantage of the amazing sales at Zellers today, and no matter where you live, tune in to the World Juniors as they kick off the 2011 Tournament.  Today's schedule in Eastern Standard Time:

Sun, Dec. 26	1	12:30 A			Germany	vs.		Switzerland
Sun, Dec. 26	2	16:00 B			Russia	vs.		Canada
Sun, Dec. 26	3	16:00 B			Norway	vs.		Sweden
Sun, Dec. 26	4	20:00 A			Finland	vs.		USA

Merry Christmas

Well, here is my first blog post.  I am sure it won't be my last!

Christmas day, 2010.  I got a great gift from a very special person.  I am so excited about it too!  You remember when you were a kid and your mom and dad had you make a list for a letter to Santa.  Well, now we know that they used that list to find out what you wanted.  My parents handed us the Sears catalog and said, list out your items.  That was our trip to the Mall.  The catalog would come in October sometime and we would wear the print off the toy pages.  As is I got a little older I used to peek at the ladies in their skanties too, but that is another story for another time.

Well the lists would get made, my brother's always had half the things I put on mine, and just about every year, he would get something from the part of his list that he copied from me.  It ticked me off every time, but it was a small price to pay for being the oldest child.  The thing is, rarely did I ever get a gift that wasn't on my list.  Rarely, did I open a gift and had genuine surprise wash over me.  I mean, I loved getting what I asked for, but there is something to be said for the element of surprise.

Today, the gift I got, blew me away.  In fact, I should not have been surprised by the surprise, as I have been received amazing gifts for two birthdays and now for two Christmases from this person.  But I opened the gift, and had no clue, no idea, not even an inkling what it would be.  She had asked me a few times what I wanted, but I just really could not come up with anything that I could get excited about.  I mean, I want an XBOX 360 Kinect.  But at 40 years old, I can't ADMIT that to anyone!!  I need underwear, but not really applicable either for this person.  Well, I have to say, that she outdid herself again.

I had gone a few years without LOVING Christmas.  I haven't been with family, don't have kids, so to me it was a nice day off work, with a few presents, and a chance to watch a few movies.  Since being surprised with the gifts i have been receiving, I have had a blast on both Christmas and my birthdays!

Surprise is great!  It has made me a kid again!
So what did I get?  Not telling!  But i will use it everyday, for many many years!