Top 10 of 2005

Since this will probably be the last posting on here for me this year, I decided that I would make my own little list of the best things to happen to me this year. Some are moments, some are certain events, maybe days or even a couple days. Whatever they may be, here they are:

10. Seahawks vs Cowboys @ Qwest Field

I think this one qualifies as a moment. For the most part, the game itself wasn't anything to write home about. Up until the final minute or so, the biggest news that day was our miraculous run of having no official rain on gameday had come to an end. It was also the weekend after Ken Hamlin had his skull caved in during a brawl outside of a Pioneer Square bar. For the most part, the feeling all throughout the stadium was one of gloom and doom. But then, with about a minute to go in the game, Jordan Babineaux intercepted a Drew Bledsoe pass and ran the ball back to about the 30 yardline. With 6 seconds left in the game, Josh Brown came onto the field and kicked the game-winning field goal. With no time left on the clock, the Seahawks were victorious. But the best thing was, for the first time since that Monday Night game against Dallas the year before when the Seahawks got screwed by the officials (both on and off the field), the Qwest Field crowd was absolutely deafening. And the crowd stuck around, cheering for ever and ever. It was our first hint that maybe....just maybe....this season might be a little different.

9. Devil's Tower/Sears Tower/Gateway Arch on the Summer Roadie

I'm just combining these three as one highlight. Being a fan of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" for years, I always wanted to visit Devil's Tower. It's even cooler when you get to see it in person. When I was a kid, my best friend, Arik, told me all about his visit to the Sears Tower. The one thing I remember about his story was how cool he thought the elevator ride to the top was. You don't see much. But when you get to the top and look down, it really is pretty amazing how quickly you got that high. And although I had seen the Arch on my previous visits to St. Louis, it was still pretty neat to get to actually go to the observation deck. It was also pretty cool to get to see a ballgame in Busch Stadium in it's last season.

8. Seahawks/Giants @ Qwest Field

Frankly, this one shouldn't even be on the list. Holding an 8 point lead with about three minutes to go, the Hawks went into their stupid prevent defense. And, of course, the Giants marched straight down field and scored the game tying touchdown and two-point conversion. Then the interesting stuff began. Giants kicker, Jay Feely, missed a game-winning field goal as time was running out. That one was just wide left. He then missed another one in overtime (granted, it was from well-over 50 yards. I knew before he even tried it that he was gonna miss that one. It was too cold to boot it that far). But the miracle miss was his third attempt. From only about 40 yards, he just plain muffed that one. From where I sit in the opposite endzone, it was gonna split the uprights. But then, the ball stopped going up. And it wound up falling well-short. The Seahawks got the ball back and, on the 2nd play from scrimmage, DJ Hackett caught a Matt Hasselbeck deep ball to put the Seahawks in scoring position. Being smart, the Hawks used one play to get the ball placed more in the middle of the hash-marks, and Josh Brown came on and won it with another field goal. I know we had no business winning that game. But a win is a win, isn't it?

7. Missoula, Montana

I had already planned on going to Missoula for a weekend (as I always do in the summertime). But this year, Tom had expressed interest in going there, too. He wound up flying over there a couple days ahead of me. When I got there on Saturday, we just kinda went ahead and went through our usual stuff. We ate lunch at a Hardee's and left several nasty comments about the staff on some of those comment cards they put at the tables (I signed mine as former Sabercats captain, Scott Boston; he signed his as former Winterhawks goon Randy Turnbull). At the mall there, one of those people with their clipboard wanting us to take a survey bothered us. So we bothered her right back. I also entertained Tom by making an obviously sloppy pass at a couple chicks working at a coffee stand. We then went to a Missoula Osprey game. The game itself was fairly routine. But we started calling bullshit when some church group from Corvallis (a small town south of Missoula) was, literally, winning all of the prizes they were handing out during the game. So there we were, everytime someone else from their group would win something, hollering out variations on how Satan was the supreme ruler and stuff like that. Most of the people around us got it and joined in with us. We literally had them in the palm of our hands. Of course, the twisted highlight of the trip was the next day at the new Spokane Hooters. Not only was the Seahawks pre-season victory over the New Orleans Saints playing on all of the televisions in the place, there was also a kids birthday party there. Two things that Tom hates...kids and the Seahawks winning. Needless to say, he didn't have a very good time there (haha).

6. World of Outlaws

This whole thing started out as the two of us heading out to Elma to watch the local yokels participate in some dirt track racing. But things changed a little when we drove past the race track and saw a bunch of fancy trailers in the pits. "These guys don't mess around, do they" I told Tom. When we got to one of Tom's favorite restaurants, the Rusty Tractor, we realized what we had stumbled upon...the World of Outlaws were in town. When we got to the ticket booth, the only seats we could get were $40 and in the 2nd row at the start/finish line. So for the warmups and the first couple races, we were literally being showered with chunks of mud. As time went by, these two drunk chicks stumbled down our way and made fools out of themselves. One of them went up to the fence and mooned the racers as they raced by while taking the green flag. That same woman also wound up giving me her phone number (and I didn't even ask...lol). But, then again, she gave it to almost all of the guys around there. Then, just to even out the mud at the start of the night, we got a constant, large cloud of dust flying over us for just about the entire main event. The legendary Steve Kinser lost the lead of the main event with about 5 laps remaining, we got pelted with mud, showered in dust and my left ear rang like crazy for two days after. But it was still $40 well-spent.

5. Seahawks vs. Rams @ Edward Jones Dome

Right now, I really wish my internet hadn't conked out on me the night I wrote all about my trip to St. Louis in October. But hey...shit happens, eh? Anyway, it was still really great to be able to walk out of the EJD a winner this time (haha). Unlike last season, I didn't get all the taunts and the such after the game. Although, I do suspect that having Joe walking along side also helped out alot (haha). One of the highlights (at least to the people who would have read it...perhaps not as much for Joe, Lindsay and I...lol) was getting the cheerleaders to autograph a calendar I bought from them. Unlike with the Sea-Gals, the Rams cheerleaders experience is rather detached. Basically, you give one of them the money to buy the calender, then they just pass it around among themselves to sign it. So you really only get to say "hi" or something like that to one of them. So things were going along fairly smoothly until a bunch of firefighters showed up. Then they all just kinda ignored the rest of us (who look an awfully lot like me, coincidently I'm sure) and just fawned all over the firefighters. The other groups came from other parts of the stadium leaving other calendar buyers waiting for them clear across the way. So that turned out to be about 15 minutes worth of standing around doing nothing. But part of that was more than made up for about 10 minutes later when I had my picture taken upstairs with those other three (as depicted in that one photo on here). The rest of the trip was pretty fun, too. Going to the Budweiser plant, Union Station, the Blues game, a deserted mall downtown and hanging out at Lindsay's new digs. Really, it turned out to be a fairly relaxing trip which more than made up for the stress and anxiety brought on by the summer roadie. And I really needed that.

4. Vancouver, BC

What can I say? There's just something about the best city in the world that brings out alot of killer times. Funny things seem to happen north of the border. Whether it was Kurt being honest at the exchange station, the bartender with the thick Canadian accent, the British street performer in his straight jacket begging for cash (no coins) or our mystery guest spinning us all out of control. The whole thing turned out to be yet another memorable daytrip. I'm happy that I skipped out on that game in Everett (as I suspected I would when I made my decision).

3. Calgary/Red Deer/Kelowna

Scenic drives, a cool new city that I desperately want to visit again (Calgary), meeting a couple cool new people (Steve and Matt), Kristi and more alcohol fueled madness. This trip had a little bit of everything. Outside of a crappy ending in Kelowna (which, if it wasn't for that, this trip would probably have been #1 on this list), this was a trip that I don't think I'll ever forget. I don't think I'll ever listen to "I'm Just a Girl" the same way again (lol).

2. Kelowna in the Springtime

This was the first trip Kristi and I had ever taken together...of any sort. So at first, I had my qualms with it. However, it turns out that Kristi is now one of my favorite roadie partners! Frankly, our drinking was out of hand on the first night there in Kelowna. The whole thing came to a head while we were at McDonalds after the game and the girl behind the counter told me "sir, your girlfriend can't sleep in the restaurant" (referring to Kristi passing-out on one of the benches). For the most part, I was just fine the next day. But poor Kristi had the hangover from hell (lol). We didn't go to the same insane extremes the next day. But still, this was the most fun I'd had on a trip...maybe ever.

Ode to Kristi...

Okay...this isn't technically an "ode" since I'm not exactly musically inclined (lol). But it's still funny how people come together sometimes. At the 2004 Everett pre-season tourney, Karin and I were walking around the EEC concourse when she suddenly stopped and started talking to these two girls. Not once during the whole conversation was I ever included in it. When they were done talking, I turned to Karin and said (in a farily whiny voice) "how rude of you". She gave me that Karin "look" and then said "whaaaat"? "You didn't introduce me to your little friend there". She looked at me and asked "which one"? "The one with the glasses". Karin kinda laughed and said "that's Emily". I told her "she looks interesting enough". Then she said "the other one is named Kristi. Most of the guys go after her". I told her "I can see why. But I'm sure she wouldn't give me the time of day". So later on that day, while I was walking around by myself, I saw Karin talking to Kristi and Emily again. She waved me over and introduced me to the two of them. Before I could even get a word out, Kristi said "dude! I need a sip of your pop. Can I have one"? And somehow or another, the chick I thought wouldn't "give me the time of day" has turned into one of my best friends! As for Emily? You know, I don't think she's even said 10 words to me since then (lol). Now, when I'm planning one of my trips, I'm always asking Kristi if she is interested in going.

I love running around with all my friends. And the trips make for some really memorable times. Whether it's Kurt, Kara, Karin, Lindsay, Joe or anyone else, everyone makes for interesting times on the road. But really, the two that seem to bring out the best of times in me are Kristi and.........

1. Fear and Loathing at the Tacoma Navigators Game

.......Tom Winter. It was just something that we heard was happening on the radio that afternoon. It was a pre-season "minor league" basketball game being held at the new Mt Tahoma high school. So, in kind of a spur of the moment way, we decided to check it out. Afterall, it was only $5 to get in. But when we got there, it was clear that there was another reason for holding a game between two teams in early August when the actual season didn't even start until somewhere in the middle of November (and you know...I'm not really too sure that the Navigators even actually made it into the league). The whole thing was nothing more than a campaign spot to renew the bonds on that rotten woodpile known as the Tacoma Dome. Everywhere we looked both outside the school and inside were signs that read "Save Our Dome". While we were inline buying the tickets, Tom asked the real question; "are you gonna put the ice back in so we can get another hockey team here"? The old man selling the tickets stuttered a little bit. Then, from behind us, another man answered "that's gonna be in phase two". Turning around, it turned out that guy was none other than Tacoma sports legend, Stan Naccarato with his wife, professional bolwer Jeanne Naccarato. "How ya doin', Tom" he then asked with a wink. "I'm fine" he answered. "But whether or not this passes, it's still gonna be fucked if you don't put the ice back in". Mr Naccarato turned into the apologist. "Well, if more people turned out for hockey, that wouldn't be a problem". To which Tom fired back "when was the last time the Rainiers ever drew 14,000 people for a game? Shit, they're lucky if they can get 14,000 for a two week homestand". Naccarato sneered, shifted the toothpick in his mouth and answered that with "you two have a good time here tonight".

And that's basically what started the whole debacle. Clearly, Mr. Naccarato had no clue as to the can of worms he had just opened up. Within the two minutes it took for us to get out of the truck and past the ticket table, the two of us had gone from doing something out of boredom and into full F&L mode. There weren't many people at the game. I think at one point, I had counted 35 people scattered around the gym stands. But our pot of gold was the announcer. He was some sort of successful used car salesman who owned both of the teams (the other one was from Bellevue). Listening to him call the action, well, he was trying to be like that guy with the "and 1" tour. You know...basically full of "oh baby" and "oh my god" and stuff like that. We listened and watched the game for a couple minutes. Then the announcer/owner asked the crowd "what do you think of the action out there"? Tom then made our first move by yelling back "LAME"!!! A couple minutes later, the question was asked again. This time, both of us yelled back "LAME"!!! He also explained to us this new rule for the league called "3D". The way he had explained it, if the defending team got a turnover in the other teams backcourt, if they scored a basket off that turnover, they would get an extra point. Meaning, if it was what normally is a two-point hoop, they would get three points. And four points instead of a three-point basket. The only problem with this is that he seemed to call it at times when there was no turnover. Obviously, causing all this confusion, we would take turns asking out loud if "the 3D was on".

So if you're ever wondering what the hell the two of us are talking about when we ask each other if the 3D is on, that's where that all started (lol).

At halftime, the announcer/owner interviewed our old friend, Stan Naccarato. He was basically singing the praises of the Tacoma Dome and tried to sway us to vote for those bonds. During the whole conversation, he mentioned that Frank Sinatra himself claimed that it was the "best sounding venue he had ever sang in". To which Tom hollered out "but what did Sammy Davis, Jr think about it"? Then I chimed in with "or Dean Martin?". Tom then came back with "Regis Philbin?". And then I said "Jim Nabors?". The announcer turned around to us and told us to "shut up". When the interview was over, Tom left to go to the bathroom. And I had to call Lindsay to tell her that we were "this close to getting kicked out" of there (lol). I could see her on the other end rolling her eyes.

So now you know what we're talking about when we start asking each other "what did Frank Sinatra think about the accoustics of this place"?

When the 3rd quarter started, the announcer/owner started giving away some prizes. One of which.....I kid you not.....was a basketball ACTUALLY USED AT A NAVIGATORS PRACTICE! He made a big deal out of that for some odd reason. You would have thought he was selling the baseball Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's homerun record with. He also started giving away t-shirts. Apparently, the $10 they were charging for them outside the gym wasn't selling too many of them. At one point, I left to go to the bathroom. As I was walking back up the stairs to take my seat again, Tom hollered out at me "get your ass back down there! You won a t-shirt"! I then said back "no shit? Are you fucking with me"? Tom then hollered back "yeah....I'm fucking with you! You're a loser just like everyone else here who actually paid to get in here! I hate myself right now"!

But the whole thing came to an end when one of the players made this behind the back pass to his teammate who then blew an easy lay-up. But the announcer/owner was so impressed with the pass that he yelled into the microphone "I can't believe the skill involved with that pass"! To which I yelled back "I can't believe I paid $5 to watch this garbage"! And that was that. The announcer/owner got up from behind the microphone (while this skillful play was still happening, too) and marched right up to us. "Okay" he said all red-faced, "you two better leave or there's gonna be trouble here". Always curious, Tom asked "what kind of trouble"? Struggling for a clever comeback, all the announcer/owner could choke out was "now" while pointing his thumb at the door.

So we decided to go ahead and leave. Along our route out of there, a couple other people told us that we were funny and to take care and all that stuff. Another one liked our message about getting the ice back in the Dome. When we walked past the Naccarato's, Tom looked at Stan and said "well, we had our fun like you told us to". Mr. Naccarato just kinda nodded and moved his toothpick around a little more. After that, it was off to Hooters to laugh at all the things we had just done over a couple beers.

Epilogue

So that's about that as far as this year goes. I'm sure that there's gonna be one more cool moment here on Thursday when I get to see Kara for the first time since before she went and joined the Army. But with less than a week to go before the end of the year, that's how it all breaks down for me.

And I'll also take this opportunity to once again tell all of you how much each and everyone of you means to me! I've said it before and I'll say it again; the games are the excuse I use to get there. But it's my friends that I always look forward to seeing the most!

So thank you! My friendship with each one of you is cherished more than you can ever imagine!

Happy New Year!!!

(Hey....let's all try to top the things on this list in 2006!!! LOL)

Is It That Obvious?

It's been awhile since I sat down here and typed about anything. Mostly, I've just posted some stupid stories that I found amusing for whatever reason. But Saturday finally gave me enough inspiration to sit down here and click away at my keyboard. Of course, just about any trip up to Vancouver, BC inspires me to write (haha). It's no secret that I absolutely love that city. For whatever reason, something there just clicks with me. So it's easy for me to write about it. Of course, it'll still take me at least a couple of hours to complete this task. But it'll still be worth it.

The whole story started about two weeks ago. At the December 2nd game up in Everett, I had purchased a ticket to the Silvertips/Thunderbirds game on the 17th. Sometime that next week, Kurt gave me a call and told me that he had bought two tickets for the Giants/Winterhawks game up in Vancouver for the same day. The idea, he told me, was that the second ticket was for me. At first, I told him that I had already bought that ticket for Everett and I wouldn't be able to go. But after thinking about it for a couple hours, I figured that since I didn't have any games in Vancouver on my schedule for this season, this was a perfect opportunity to head up there. So I emailed him back and told him to count me in.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Kurt met me at my apartment at 9:00am. He dropped his car off in my parking lot and we took my car up there. He had originally offered to drive up there. But I told him I would since a) he had worked late the night before and would be pretty tired and b) he had drove us up there last year. The drive up to the border was pretty normal. Just cruising along listening to rock & roll at fairly high volumes.

While we were waiting in line at the border (a line which wasn't as long as I had expected on a Saturday at noon), these two hippies walked over to the grass to our left and held up a large sign connected to two posts that they held which read something to the effect of not using anymore "Minutemen" to patrol the border. For those not in the know, as far as I can recall the story, there have been these people who live on our side of the border lately who have taken it upon themselves to try to stop people from smuggling the ever-popular BC Bud into the United States. And, evidently, the American Government has been turning their heads the other way while they do this. Frankly, I have nothing against this practice. It's well known that I think hash should be legalized since I feel that it would cut down on alot of crime and help empty out our jails a little bit. But it's still illegal. So if the government won't do anything about it, why not let the citizens? And, of course, it didn't suprise me that the two guys holding up that sign looked like they had sampled the ol' hippie lettuce earlier in the day.

Also while we were waiting in line, Kara gave us a call. She was all stoked about being able to go to the Coyote Ugly there in San Antonio. I think she was trying to make us jealous or something. I didn't have the heart to tell her that they not only have something similar to that up in Seattle (Cowgirls Inc.), but also down here only about 200 yards from where I live (The Lady Luck Saloon). But it was still nice hearing from her. And, of course, I can't wait to see her back on leave here on New Year's Eve! That'll be great!!!

The girl in the booth who takes your id's and stuff seemed pretty slow. I think it was mostly just due to boredom. But she still asked all the usual questions. And then let us go on our way.

Our first stop in Canada (as always) was at the cash exchange shop. There were two clerks at the desk and we were the only ones in there. So we each took a window. We each gave them $60. Kurt got done first and started putting his cash back in his wallet. Then, as my clerk was counting out my money ($74 and change), Kurt spoke up. "Wait a minute....you gave her $60, right"? I answered "yeah". "And you're getting $74 back, right"? Again I said "yeah". "Okay...I also gave $60, but I only got $64 back". I turned around and looked at the clerk. She looked at her computer, typed something in and said "oops. I'm sorry". So now, with my honest way's kicking in, I gave my $74 and change back to her so she could give me the correct $64. I shook my fist and cursed Kurt even before we left the store (jokingly, of course). He told me he was sorry and that he shouldn't have said anything. As a peace offering, he told me he would buy me a beer later on. So I forgave him on the spot (lol).

So it was on towards downtown Vancouver. Robson street traffic really wasn't all that bad at the time. But the sidewalks were packed with Christmas shoppers. I parked the car in the usual garage just off the corner of Robson and Bute. And even though we knew about it before we got there, we still paused for a moment of silence in rememberance of the now-closed Hooters. Ah, the memories of that place. Kurt's undercooked buffalo shrimp last year comes to mind. Also, the fact that they made just about the best fish & chips I've ever tasted will be missed. But come on...we all know what the best memory of the place is. It took place during our infamous "Fear and Loathing" trip up there back in November of 2003. It was the "Tom & Tom" show clicking along at it's best (or worst...depending on your point of view). While we were in there, all they were playing was rap music. After about 15 minutes of this, Tom W waved his hand at the waitress, motioning her to come over to our table. "Is there something I can do for you" she asked. Tom replied "yeah....can you play something white"?

Since we were the only ones in the place at the time, they did flip the music over to the oldies station where, ironically, they were playing"I'll Be There" by the Four Tops. But the lines infamous place is still well-intact. And probably will be for as long as I'm alive. Even if it was just about the worst Hooters I've ever been to, the joint will still be missed just for that reason alone.

So having to find a new place to hang out on Robson Street (and finding a place so Kurt could take a piss), we decided on this bar called "Fogg & Suds". There weren't many people in there when we arrived. But, then again, it was only about 12:30 at the time. So we bellied up to the bar and ordered our beer. And, just for the record, Kurt did pay me back (lol). We sat there at the bar chatting with the bartender (who had one of the thickest Canadian accents you'll ever come across and also gave me a free basket of fries) and another fellow while watching the Giants/Chiefs NFL game on the tv. Eventually, there was another employee who came to work wearing a Vancouver Giants Gilbert Brule jersey. It turns out that he was a Giants season ticket holder. And we sat there with him chatting away about the Giants, Winterhawks and the rest of the WHL for quite awhile. After spending almost three hours in there, we agreed on our way out that "Fogg & Suds" is gonna be our new hangout while in Vancouver.

So it was onto Robson Street to walk around for awhile. We walked down a few blocks, occasionally taking a trip into a shop to take a look at some over-priced items. Of course, we ogled and drooled at all the girls who we knew wouldn't even give us the time of day (lol). Eventually, we got to a point where we decided to turn around and head back. But when we looked across the street, we noticed that there was a crowd gathered around the art museum. At first, Kurt didn't seem too interested in what was happening over there. But dammit, there was a crowd over there and I just had to see what it was all about. When we got there, in the center of everything, there was a man standing there in a straight jacket. It turns out he was kind of a stand-up Houdini. He told us that he was from Great Britain (which was pretty obvious from his accent). He also begged for money alot (cash only...he didn't want any coins). His reasoning for this was "the more money you give me, the more money I'll have". My favorite line was said during one of his first attempts at getting out of his jacket. He told everyone to clap in unison while he jumped up and down trying to get out of it. So the crowd did and he jumped along to the rythem. Of course, as usually happens when crowds clap together, the beat starts coming at a more rapid pace. When it did, he stopped and said "I said clap together, not faster you idiots". Even insults towards the crowd like that brought laughter. At one point, he even told us to flip off the people on the bus passing behind us. And some people did.

Eventually he got out of the jacket. As Kurt and I were leaving, the last things I heard coming out of his mouth were more plea's for money...cash only.

We still had some time to kill. So we decided to head back onto Cambie Street and go to the Oakridge Mall. We weren't looking to buy anything there. Mostly we just wanted to kill more time and find another place to take a leak. But on our lap around the place, we couldn't find any restrooms. Just as we were about to give it up, I found one of those maps of the mall. I went over to it and started looking. I didn't even notice that there was a woman standing next to it in a Santa hat. "Are you looking for anything in particular" she asked. Without hesitation, I said "yes...a bathroom". She laughed and pointed at the back of the drug store that we were just outside of. So we weaved our way through there, did what we had to do, and headed back out to the car.

Along the way to the PNE, we hit the end of a street. And the only way to turn was right. So I went ahead and turned left there and then another left at the next light. But again, this was another street that doesn't hook up with Renfrew (the street that the PNE is on along with Hastings). I started getting a little suspicious after a few miles and decided to take a left turn. It turns out that this was a smart idea. I noticed that the lit-up ski resort on Grouse Mountain was a little further to the west than I had remembered. So we took a couple more turns and headed back up north until we got to Hastings. It turns out that I was right. But the cool thing was that we were only about two or three blocks from where we were supposed to be. So really, in the end, we only lost about 5 minutes or so.

Things went a little south when we got to the parking lot. The price to park there is $6.50. Why they charge the extra 50 cents is anyone's guess. So when we got to the booth, trying to get rid of as much of the Canadian money that we could, Kurt and I started fishing around in our pokets trying to slap together $6.50 in coins. While fumbling around like a couple fools, the girl in the booth said "you guys are from the States, huh"? I kinda guffawed and replied "is it that obvious"? She chuckled a little and said "yes it is". Eventually, we slapped the money together, got our little ticket and parked the car.

While we were waiting in line at the will-call window, a man asked his son (probably somewhere around 7 or 8) what the name of the team was on the jersey I was wearing. I always wear my old Joe Sakic Quebec Nordiques sweater up there. It almost always gets alot of love (unlike my Jackman Blues jersey I wore there a couple years ago. Some lessons are best learned the hard way). But the kid had no clue. So I decided to change the question a little bit in the hopes that he would be able to correctly answer it. I took my Seahawks jacket off and asked him if he knew the first name of the guy who's jersey it was. I heard his mom feed him the answer, but I still slapped him 5 when he answered "Joe". Then his little sister (about a year or two younger) closed her jacket up and asked me what was on her shirt. She didn't cover up a star on it, so I thought for a second and answered "All-Star"? She said "Nope" and then revealed to me that it said "State Champions". Her dad then said "even though that's kinda hard to do up here in the Provinces". That didn't stop her, though. "My soccer team is called the Maniacs. And we NEVER lose". I popped my eyes open and said "wow! You must be an all-star then". She then reached in her pocket and pulled out what looked like a picture."Here. You can have this" she said as she handed it to me. It turned out to be a little notepad with a snow monkey on it. Her mom bent down to her and said "wow...that's a really nice thing to do". I waited for a second for her mom to look back up at me. When she did, she gave me a little nod. So I knew that accepting this gift was alright. Then I said "well thank you. I will definitely remember you for this and, next time I see you, I'll have something to give you in return".

Of course I won't (lol). The chances of me seeing her again are pretty slim. But I was still touched by her gesture. Eventually,the dad got their tickets (they were another slow bunch at the will-call window) and we waved good-bye to each other.

Now as for what all happened while we were inside...well...most of that is gonna have to go unsaid. It's not that anything particularly bad happened or anything. It's just that one of the participants who we ran into there wanted annonimity. And as is known well-ahead of time, I won't write about anything on here that people don't want out in the open. Which in this case is probably a good thing (lol). The things that Kurt and I were exposed to were, at the very least, unsettling. Other words that come to mind are unsavory, uncomfortable, bizarre, sleazy, unwanted information, etc. And we'll jump ahead here and just say that it pretty much dominated the conversation in the car on the way home. So this is one of those rare instances that I have to say "what happened in Vancouver is gonna stay in Vancouver".

Sorry kids.

The game itself was odd. For the first 52 minutes, the two teams were locked-up in a 0-0 tie. Then Vancouver scored the first goal. Then the second. Then the third. Then the fourth. Then the fifth. By the time it was over, the Giants had a 5-0 victory over Portland. To me, I would compare the Winterhawks in this game to a boxer with a glass jaw. They hung around for awhile. But once that first big punch landed, they were staggered enough that they couldn't come back to mount any fight.

And so the race for 2nd place in the US Division continues to stumble along. With Portland, Seattle and Spokane all within 2 points of that spot, not a single one can win a game to save their lives at this point. And first place Everett isn't fairing much better, either.

And that's about that. Not much happened the rest of the way home. The only real thing of note was that getting back into the States was more normal this time. The guard asked a few more questions than they did last time. But we still got through. All-in-all it was a great time. Once again, I survived the lunacy that is Vancouver traffic (always a victory in my book). We found a cool new hangout, a greedy street performer, a cool family and we got through what could have been a potentially embarrassing situation (lol).

Not bad for one day!