Last evening the Chiefs came out on top of the Trenton Titans. From the way the announcer was talking it sounded like DesRochers was lighting things up and playing like he hasn't yet this season. He did pull in the first goal, upping himself to only 3 on the season (way behind his mark from last year, sadly) and Peterson or Zo (I've seen write ups crediting both) shifted into forward to score the other goal to give us the 2-1 win.

Today the Chiefs really inspired some hope rolling into January. January is usually the killer for most teams, hopefully what we've seen here tonight will carry forward. They not only took down the Columbia Inferno 7-4 but Rowe had a hat trick and Henrich came out w/ 2. Tallari and Demo helped round things out as well. It was just a good game all in all, and so nice to see the place packed.

Roche didn't quite have the presence on the ice tonight that it sounded like he had last night... but I'm also thinking he's gone a little stupid. I had a friend take the Bridgeport jersey to get signed and he seemed to think it was hers. Uh, you only wore one white and one blue while there, you KNOW I have the jersey. Duh. Not like I need more proof that the marbles that do exist are out of place. Silly boys.

Since the game started early I had plenty of time to grab some grub and head home long before midnight. I am tired as can be for whatever reason, so mayhaps I can watch the ball drop from the comfort of my warm fluffy bed.

"So, if I have a chance, would you let me know? -The Killers"

Horror of horrors... the Schwan's mint pie has spent too long in the freezer. This is, of course, devastating. I have not even this as solace after seeing that the Penguins might actually win a game *HA*. Actually, I'm a little more troubled to see "placed on a non-roster spot" on the UHL transactions. What the hell does THAT mean? The position of "eye candy for a suga-mama" is still open, just so you know.

Things are pretty boring and quiet around here, but I'm still not sleeping super well at night. I think it's the tossing and turning giving me a sore back. Vixen is still carrying around her toy from Christmas. I think the most exciting thing lately is that it's been raining instead of snowing. For once I'd rather see a little bit of snow as my yard is re-appearing, and with that some mud - requiring the dogs to come in through the basement.

We also decided to start planning a little pass into Ohio late in January to catch the Preds in Columbus and mayhaps hitting the Dayton game the night before. Of course, if we head in that direction then we have to head towards Hershey or WBS in March. Oh Batesy! What was that you use to call him? Pansy boy? Bah.

Yesterday the lazy streak continued and I watched two movies that I have seen before, but it's been a while. I had actually forgotten how good of a movie Arlington Road is. Sometimes your paranoia is real indeed. This movie will always remind me of the days of first friday at the Westwood theatres. Changing Lanes, not as good of a story, but still a decent flick.

I was thinking some yesterday. I have a distinct memory from my childhood that was relevant. When I was younger the options in my neighborhood for kids to hang around with were usually several years younger. I remember running and playing one day when I made a comment to one of the kids (remember I'm a youngin here) to pretend something. Her mother overheard and told me that she's too old to pertend (yes PERtend). How sad is that?

I think only my ability to pretend gets me through sometimes, I employ it to this day. There are nights when left to my own internal dialog I'd never get to sleep. It's so much easier to lull myself out by creating a dream scenario in my mind. It's relaxing, it's distracting, and yes, it's pretending. Maybe that's why I'd rather stay in bed and dreamland than get up each morning. Reality never can compare with the design of a strong imagination. Is it wrong to pretend? At what age do we just start calling it delusional? Or, is it only delusional if I believe these things to be true? Thank God I remember how to pretend.

"The nightmare I build my own world to escape. -Evanescence"

Ah Christmas. What a better time to be slothen and to catch up on movies. I ask you what is better than sitting in front of a movie with a bottle of Tawny Port? Yes, I have the requisite good chocolate thanks to a gift from my sister, but to top it off the other hand is holding a nice rich cup of holiday cheer flavored coffee with a healthy dose of irish creme. To make the house as cozy as possible I've opted for candles to light my evening, it works so well with horror flicks anyhow.

I slept well into the afternoon on Christmas eve, but I did manage to get the cables hooked up before heading to the evening church services. First we headed to my church and then on to Beff's. A little TV to polish off my evening and back to bed. Today I woke up and started a tasty dinner (I did depart from the originally planned hot dogs) of roasted chicken made with the tried and true Alton techniques typically for a turkey, candied yams, and a nice tomato salad. I didn't brine the bird, as that would have taken another day or so, but it was still quite tasty. A small holiday meal no doubt compared to what my mother would typically put on the table, but why make 10 dishes when you're cooking for yourself and two begging dogs.

An auction closed out earlier today too which I'm quite excited for. I do have some searches on ebay set to email me if new items appear, but this item would not be returned by any of those searches, which makes the fact that I received an email all the more odd. Nevermind that those reminder emails usually fire off when the item is added, not a day before it closes out. Either way, I'll take it... somehow I guess I was meant to see this listing. What a cute little baby face you have. This card will make a nice addition to my collection and should garner a surprised smile.

As dinner cooked I flipped on the Christmas tree lights and the girls opened their gifts. When dinner was ready I tossed in movie number 1: The new release of the Amittyville Horror. I am quite impressed with how they updated the film and didn't feel the need to stick with the same tired perspective as the original from the late 70's had. They did hold true to a few areas that are critical to still allow one to call this the Amittyville Horror. Excellent usage of scenes with Ryan Reynolds' shirt off. That alone ranks five stars.

Movie number 2: The Devil's Rejects. There is little in this film that someone who did not already watch House of 1000 Corpses would not get, but there are tidbits that are easier to "get" if you've seen Rob Zombie's first flick. Mayhaps my demand for gore is excessive, but I was a little let down by this flick. Not that the first movie was laden with gore, and it's not a sequel per se, but you still have to step it up a notch.

Movie number 3: Cursed. I've always been more of a fan of vampire flicks werewolves. I guess the closest I've come is enjoying the crossover between the two, Underworld. Cursed ruled... let me count the ways. First, it's Wes Craven. I've long since been a fan of his work. Christina Ricci, the ultimate little gothy chic, is in it. It was actually quite entertaining right down to the downfall of the 'beast' being the cattiness of women. Another female lead played Fern/Vylette in Jawbreaker, another b*tchy chic movie that I dig. Finally, my goodness did the hottie bouncer guy with the quickie part look like Paulie. Yum. Judging from IMDb the guy's name is Egan Friedlander, but no photos... rats.

On a final note I'll point out that there was NOT a single gift under my tree wrapped only in a blue bow. Booo.

The past two days has been pretty busy running around, but I guess that's to be expected with the holidays upon us. I headed out after work Thursday to meet up with Beff and Slippy for a nice dinner at Rizzo's before we stopped in at Beff's to swap gifts. It was proven just how good of a girl I've been all year as I scored a gorgeous opal ring, my very own putter, the NHL monopoly game, and a worthy "replacement" for my old tattered and abused Clarion sweatshirt. I say "replacement" because you know darn well I can't toss the old one, but I will stick to wearing it only while I'm cleaning etc.

Friday, my first vacation day, I was on the search for a stinking filter for my humidifier. I'm pretty sure the items I ordered from Amazon that are on backorder until February are waiting for this filter. So I guess I'll split the order, and try to find the filter somewhere else. Of course, somewhere else means double the price (plus shipping) since none of the local stores carry the darn thing. At least I will be able to breathe at night and sleep through. I guess it's a worthy investment.

After getting a quick haircut it was then off to Mithy's with some chinese food in hand where I left with a bottle of Vicki's perfume, the stuff I just ran out of not too long ago! During my afternoon down time, I cleaned up in the living room and arranged around a new rug that I found on sale. I'm glad I bought it, because Satin sure finds it more appealing to sleep on than her new bed. The living room looks much nicer. Again I wonder what the crack smokin' beotch who owned this place before us was thinking when she bought mauve carpet.

My two Christmas gifts to myself (neither of which I expected to get here before Christmas) arrived as well, so I have a new stockpile of fabulous wine from Cranberry Wine and Gift Store and a cutie shirt from the River Otters. As to the wine, I've had their wine before and found all we had ordered to be quite tasty. They are, after all, folks in the same vein as my brewing inspiration... the odder the fruit the better the wine. Who needs grapes? I just ordered the River Otters stuff Thursday, I can't believe it got here from Missouri by Friday - now THAT is fast.

A few hours later and it's time to head to the Law's! On the way another quest started, since I've also discovered in another delivery a nice new DVD/VCR that I requested for my bedroom (thanks sis *grin*) I now need cables. Here is where the rant starts (shocking huh, I'm several paragraphs into this post and it's just now coming out). First, I'll repeat how much I hate Circuit Sh*tty. Of course, I hate Walmart more, so in order to avoid the greater evil I first stopped at CS in my quest to find cables that I'll need to hook this thing up. After all, there is still three days of vacation, I'll be wanting to watch movies. These idiots actually think that any self-respecting audio/visual aficionado would actually shop in their hellhole to the extent that they have the audacity to only carry high end cables (starting at $40). Are you insane? The player was probably $90. I'm not spending another 50% of that for cables! Ugh. So, I try a few other places to no avail... what remains but the dreaded Walmart.

So I proceed to the Laws with the hopes that a later hour trip to the Walmart will prove to be less painful than the normal shopping hours. Thank God for the Laws, there isn't a family (yes, family... people with children) that I'd rather spend time with. It was sad to walk in and not be greated by Ripley, but their house was still quite the welcoming home. Now that Jacob is quite apt at locating his own presents, he hunted everything down and I was pleased to see I did good. Heck, even Brian liked Jacob's gifts. I also left there with quite the haul. I am now the proud owner of more booze with which to create delightful martinis in my new glasses, Law-brew, and beautiful glass pumpkin ornaments. As I said before, I've been a very VERY good girl this year. Here's to being naughty in 2006. Volunteers to help me out?

I would proceed with a Walmart discussion, but I'd rather end this entry on a positive note. My gift to you, dear reader. Merry Christmas :) Post Walmart, I was inspired to stop in and snag some new movies from Blockbuster, now that I have the player, the cables, and the booze. Movie reviews - forthcoming!

The eternal discussion, does one listen to sad music because they are sad, or are they sad because they listen to sad music? I never can seem to tear myself away from some tunes that fall into this category, the ones that bring me to tears 4/5 times I listen to them, but I just love the song/band. Damn you anyhow Coldplay.

To my vacationing regular visitor (if you're reading while away), I didn't get to wish you a Merry Christmas due to avoidance strategies after the last game. Do pass my greetings along to Z. Have a safe one and we'll see you on New Years. Good luck on the return trip... try not to hurt anyone I wouldn't hurt.

I knew there was a reason I still watch southpark. I love the ones making fun of Canada (with their flapping heads and beady eyes). *sorry guys* The French Canada part this evening's episode was priceless, particularly the "French Canadians are a little odd". Amen brotha. Think poutine... and they think burgh'ers are wacky for the gravy alone (the things you learn during post game discussions).

I saw earlier today that Henrich and Kelly are heading back up to Springfield. I wonder how much that messed with their holiday plans. To get me through the local hockeyless boredom I'll be listening to the Marlies and Otters for a few days. That'll do for now. Yawn. This could end up being a very long weekend.

Boys took out Charlotte last evening, good game... a few scraps. It's unfortunate that the few folks we asked knew little (and seemed to care little) about Caponigri's status after zonking his head on the ice - be well Paul. Everyone avoided Worrell like the plague, I think the only person I saw ride him on the boards was Roche, which was surprising, but good for him for not treating the guy differently than any other player. He didn't seem too into the game anyhow (Worrell that is). Too bad we don't still have JT here, that would have been a hell of a fight.

While Beff didn't win Satin and Vixen a holiday ham, she did manage to score a pack of franks. We're having Christmas dinner at my place after all *smile* Some of the entertainment and post game things this season are rather comical, but it puts cheesey grins on everyone's faces.

Special thanks to Steve and Matt who hauled all the way up from Charlotte. Nice meeting you gentlemen. Sorry our town is a bit dead on weeknights, but I hope you enjoyed the huge-ass taco and the projectile hurling conversation.

Slipster passed this along, I've seen it in years past, but it's worth a second smile. Proceed with caution as it is a bit explicit, but in all the right ways.

"Cause you can't take that stuff to Canada. No you can't take it anywhere. -Low"

So there is this guy I know, but he's seeing someone. (Sound familiar... isn't it always the way?) I guess if I could learn anything from lesson's past taught from the other side of the door I could just do everything in my power to steal him. Maybe tell him he reminds me of some guy pictured on the front of a trashy romance novel or pout around the office telling people that he's "my soulmate" and how "I deserve him more than she does". Ooh, I can find some herb or spice he likes the smell of and make it into a huge production with my similar adoration.

The difference? Unlike some, I just can't "steal" someone. I guess I just don't have it in me - while others it doesn't even matter if there are marriage vows exchanged (I'll definitely never be THAT type of ... I would say girl, but that seems too sterile and kind ... insert nasty word here (homewrecker etc)).

I've had quite a few dreams lately of being somewhere else. A new home etc... Change. Is change what is absolutely required to break out of my current slump? I know it's bad when I end up running late because I can't tear myself out of bed... the potential to stay in dreamland for another hour far outweighs any good that can come from getting up and facing the day. I looked up at the sky as I was leaving the grocery store last night and it was absolutely beautiful. I've seen a ton of amazing sunsets, but then I instantly am saddened by them. I guess beauty IS meant to be shared.

"Do you ever question your life? Do you ever wonder why? -Ian Van Dahl"

Not a stellar weekend for the Chiefs... and a rather boring one for me, but so far, boring in an okay way. The boys looked good on Friday night, I'll give them that, without a doubt. It was a thriller to see the score tie back up in the last seconds of the game. Roche broke his drought, scoring the first goal, and scoring in the shootout, but to no success for the team. Boutin played an amazing game but fell after seeming to get rattled by a shot sneaking by in the shootout, and then two more.

Mayhaps a muse spoke and was heard. The muse, when using the restroom, has a knowing smirk, this is how you will recognize her. She can clear a room within seconds.

Saturday the boys headed to Wheeling while Beff and I worked on more posters. Ok, actually I procrastinated and we tried to shop for the last couple gifts I need and THEN we worked on posters. Today, with the exception of leaving to eat dinner with Beff and Slippy I did pretty much nothing. It does look like I will have an exceptional grade on the semester, so I'm pleased and can relax a bit, at least until the next semester starts up. I guess going back to that place tomorrow will give me something to do, but I still wish I could pass.

I'm sure I've typed it at some point, my quandry over if a small change in what you've ever said or done would change everything. A chain of events has been set into motion. Regardless I was part of that series. It may produce true happiness for some, which I've said would make me happy, or it may start the end game. What will it be?

"Oh, don't you put me on the backburner. You know you've got to help me out. -The Killers"

If I could I would pose to my long lost love this question... do you remember being told "then this may not be where you should be working"? Yep. I heard that again. The shift back to valuing business development and "professional development time" seems to be a value of my new superior. I don't know where I want to be in 5 years. But I promise, if you asked me 5 years ago the same question I would not have said in Johnstown working for XYZ again. The answer to that question, for me, has never had anything to do with my job. I'm not driven to get remarried at this point, or pop out kids - so that's not what I mean - I just have a view of "where I am" to be more than my job. My job is just what I do during the day in order to financially support the "where I am".

Because I refuse to put this two hour conversation in the professional development time category (since it appears to be a weekly ritual) and I am not going to get myself in trouble for improperly completing my timesheet, the time is instead going to overhead. I'm sure that will please people, but at least it might give me an angle to say "if my option is to make up the time - then you have 5 minutes, 10 tops... now get out of my cube".

At least it's Friday and we didn't get anywhere near the amount of snow they called for. There is so little moisture in the air I feel like a rawhide raisin. I peeled a clementine this morning and allowed it to sit on my desk during my aforementioned two hour talk. By the time I went to pick it up the segments felt crunchy on the outside.

So last night Boutin got his second shutout. Good work boots and good work to Kelly for the only goal, but that's all it took to win! We're now within one point of the Trenton Titans in standings as well. This season isn't a loss in my opinion despite a slower start than many would have liked. If we could just keep guys off of IR I think we might have a fighting chance. Last night Spence looked a bit off of his legs fairly often, one of the curses of returning to the ice after injuries I suppose. Cygan and Rowe are down and out for a short stint. Peterson dropped the gloves too, maybe this is just an attempt to get all of the least likely to fight a few minutes in the sin bin. Granted Peterson scrapping isn't as odd to me as Roche, but it still shocked me.

At the game I pointed out the creepy guys to a couple friends and got confirmation that I'm not imagining things. I told you I draw wierdos. What I've said or done that warrants a strange look and shared laugh/smile between the two of them every time we pass in the hall I will never understand. I would have dismissed this totally had they not started sitting closer to the section in which I have my season ticket. For all I know one of them could be the wacko that sent me a picture of myself over instant messenger last season.

Also at the game, I'm waiting for my chatty friends *grin* and this lady says "we're still using your car". I was puzzled for a second but then my inability to remember faces faltered and I realized this is the mother of the guy who bought my Avenger! I was so happy to hear she's still running and doing well for him. God I miss that car. I even mentioned her yesterday over lunch. Pretty sad huh. I guess the tie is that it was my first brand new vehicle and I paid for her by myself.

This relates to a discussion we had last night about how easily we attach to things and people. Sometimes the need to feel connected outweighs the realization that you're wasting your time, emotion, and effort. Isn't life about a series of connections really? I firmly believe that there are some people that are suppose to be in your life, that you almost circle around one another until you cross paths if you're MEANT to meet. It's a bit like the movie Final Destination and the whole 'design' of death, but more from a life perspective. So if you ever feel the strong draw to pass along a word of encouragement to an acquaintance or to do something out of character like approach someone to say hi and introduce yourself - do it.

"If the answer is no, can I change your mind? -The Killers"

Crazy ass dog. So I basically have to pry Satin out of bed this morning, she likes that round bed in the corner a little too much. After she finally heads outside she proceeds to make snow puppies across the lawn. Watching her roll in the snow like a little kid definitely puts a smile on my face, I don't think my nine year old dog will ever act 110% old.

To further the scene the sky was a brilliant bright pink this morning when I first got up. While utterly beautiful I do heed the whole "pink sky in the morning" theory. Thusly, I will be swearing about additional snow before we know it.

Of all people, last night I got to sit and chat with Mithy for a while. It was nice to have an evening when I got to sit on the couch and not do anything. Dealing with an actual attempt to relax by having someone to talk to was very comforting. I will definitely be going insane during my weeks off and reporting that I've watched every DVD I own.

"Trust me. I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not okay. I'm not o-f*ckin-kay. -My Chemical Romance"

I had a good time this evening despite many of the guys opting to leave pretty fast after dinner. I figured the “new rules” would result in as much. But, a few did hang and made the party a good evening by partaking in karaoke and dancing.

I was shocked however that the regular routine of one party goer was slightly different than usual… arrive late, but don’t leave early! Shocking. It wasn’t from lack of trying, don’t fool yourself. In order to demonstrate distain for the group, just bring your own friends. That’s a wise solution. All I can see is adoration from one end and apathy from the other. When pouring on the adoration, you need not tap me on the shoulder, hit me in the back, or kick my chair to get my attention and ensure I see it, I am not blind. Like a train wreck there was no way I could have looked away. I question why someone would make such overtures to get something back they once again seem to not want. The sad part is the display required moving down a couple seats to give me a clear view. Thanks for making the extra effort just for me.

Beff again had people offering to hook her up. I know I’m not the super gentile feminine gal (aka everyone’s ideal with fake nails, well practiced smile, and ditzy hair twirl), but some things make me feel like a spec of dust. I also had the pleasure of being uninvited to a new years eve shindig today. Ok, I didn’t even get the uninvite, I moreso found it out myself.

To make me frown one last time, in the later hours of this evening I realized (now that it’s past midnight) that it’s my new anniversary. As proud as I was to have forgotten the would-be “real” one back in October, it’s just as stunning to realize how quickly I realized it was December 13th. Three years, seems like forever, seems like yesterday.

Since I didn’t reply to the “See ya later babe.”... “Good night buttercup.”

“So build me up, buttercup, don’t break my heart. -The Foundations”

It's time to make the cookies. Luckily I baked the ones I intended for tomorrow's party first, as the second batch, following a recipe off the bag of chocolate chips was a complete failure. I should know better than to follow anything other than nestle's recipe with the requisite extra 1/4 cup of flour. Two of my good cookie trays are now soaking and looking a heck of a lot more like the old cookie trays you keep to put under items that might bubble over while baking.

It's sad that despite a lot of the things on my list being cleared off I still had a bit of panic last night while lying in bed. I guess now I can focus on all of the stuff at work that needs finished.

Time for hockey as the boys are in Toledo today. Why exactly is 850 playing freaking football? Damnit. That's what the online feed is too. Time to tune in through Toledo's site.

After a rather abysmal loss to the Royals on Friday, the boys more than redeemed themselves against the Bombers. I hadn't really thought about it in advance, but we had former Chiefs Van Hoof and Latulippe on their roster, that always makes for a deeper "win" feeling in my book.

The shocker tonight? Roche fought. I about crapped my pants. Clearly this is not something that he's had to deal with often, if ever before, but I'll give the guy credit for giving it a go and not taking Herneisen's crap. I think he enjoyed it a bit too much as he eagerly told me to "watch it or he'd beat me up" after the game. Sadly I think we all know who the victor would be in that battle. Too bad some people show up late to the game and leave early, or they'd actually see these things take place.

Again I ask, why bother to even show up. But if I'm questioning the idiocy there, I had best question the idiocy of someone who would want to be with someone with such lack-luster desire to see them. I repeat this thought often, don't I? Ironically, I guess the lesson learned here is obvious. I always say I can't take my own advice.

Earlier today, since my paper was submitted I did some light cleaning and pulled out Christmas decorations. I wrapped up a few more gifts and loaded what I have under the tree. I even hauled out the now over a year old snow blower and took the 20 minutes to figure out how to start the damn thing and cleared a good bit of the snow from the driveway. Then again I think I cleared a good bit of the gravel too, but it's all good. Now, for the second night this weekend I head to turn in WAY too late. Tomorrow I have cookies to make in preparation for Monday night. At least many of the things that stressed me greatly are clearing from my plate right now, even if I do have a few other things starting to scoop themselves on.

Procrastination does prove to offer some funny results. So I run with Beth so she can get a new fish and to Denny's for a quick dinner. This is a good one, so stick with me. When we get there, I notice a hand written sign saying that due to the storm that hasn't hit yet their delivery trucks aren't coming and they might be out of things. I couldn't finish reading the sign because I had to rant a bit about how pathetic and North Carolina like that preemptive strike due to potential bad weather was. It's cold. WAH! It's Johnstown. (This is where you expect me to launch into the walking uphill both ways to school in 4 feet of snow speech, but no.

So on the way out I finish reading the sign. The last line, written off on its own reads: "Thank you for being a valid customer." Needless to say, this gets me laughing and I point this out to the girl at the register. She says "you're the first person to notice that! I think she meant 'valued'." (well, duh sherlock) Then she says, oh this is good...

"Valid, what's the opposite of valid? Invalid (pronounced in valid as in null or void)... but that means you can't read." Clearly she MEANT invalid as in the sense of incapacitated, but how ironic is it that she thought invalid thought you couldn't read? ILLITERATE you freaking moron.

Laughing, pretty much right in her face, was completely unavoidable. Fortunately, she didn't even realize I was laughing at her. I'm sure she thinks I just had way to big of a laugh over a stupid mistake on a sign. Does finding this incident so uncontrollably laughable make me an ellitist snot? If so, I'm honestly okay with it at this moment.

Vegas was shiney and all of those things that I so typically adore, but I’m not much of a gambler, so it wasn’t all that to me. I didn’t have time in advance to do some research or I’m sure I could have found things I wanted to go do, but instead I just spent a few days watching my co-travelers gamble and trying to catch up on sleep. The boys lost in Vegas, 4-0. The trip back went smoothly, and quickly. So at least that’s done, and I even managed to finish reading From a Buick 8.

I’m so out of it lately, I don’t know if I am just looped from vacationing or what, but I can’t believe I have to get back to work tomorrow. It’s December 7th already… good God!

Further, here I am again sucked back in and pouty. Why I would be as such over anything that resorts to 7th grade tactics, I’ll never know, but I’m a retard. Anyone who will only talk to me when others aren’t able to notice… why bother, right? It’s just the stupid little things that draw me in. I guess when all you have is the little things it’s easier to become absorbed.

I think it's time to try and get some sleep since it's clear that in this mood and loopy feeling I'll never get anywhere on the paper tonight. Time is short short short. *sigh*

I didn't do much today outside of the hotel room besides the game, there was a good deal of things to catch up on right here on the computer. At least I got some items out of the way that would otherwise distract me upon my return home from getting my butt in gear to wrap up the last section of my paper. One of the small things I decided to accomplish with my free high speed access in the room... vacation photos, or at least the ones I'm willing to share.

Gratefully, the Chiefs decided to take vengance against the Gulls after last night's whooping of 7-1 and we came out on top with a final score of 5-4 after the shoot out. Who do believe in voodoo? You do! After being convinced to lift my evil eye for a few minutes there was in fact some assistance from the object of said evil eye in winning the game. ooooh, my vast powers. *laugh*

Tomorrow it's on to Vegas. I can't say I'm overly excited as I'm not the gambling type and I don't really have someone specific to try and set things up to go see with (it's easier with just a pair or three to come up with a game plan). I'm sure I'll enjoy the lights, anything shiney pretty much guarantees my enjoyment, but there isn't anything other than the game on my to do list at this point.

Today was a bit chilly, but only enough so to warrant a sweatshirt... no coat and no snow. We started the morning watching what could pass as a parade but involved about 200 police cars. Honestly, it was suppose to be a parade, the sirens blaring etc... and a few of them trying to use the siren/horns to honk out jingle bells. I'm glad I wasn't still in bed, that would have been a rude awakening. A group of us then, after watching this unique parade, headed to the San Diego zoo which was pretty darn nice.

Shortly there after it was time to get ready to head across the street to the arena for the first game against San Diego. Unfortunately we pretty much had our butts handed to us (7-1). There was a good number of poor calls, you'd swear we brought Nigel with us. How do San Diego fans throw not one but two bottles out on the ice and not get called for a bench minor? I digress.

From there a moment spent waiting to greet the boys and over to Chilis to eat in the same room as them, oh gee, thanks. I'm honestly not too into the dealing with any of it aspect at this stage. I'm happy to be here and happy to see them play - it's just the off-ice politics I could be perfectly happy steering clear of.

It's like hanging out w/ Leonard. When I was nice to him he treated me like crap, when I treated him like crap he was sweet and talkative. Same applies here. Yes, there was a monkey that we joked reminded us of you... it was posing for the camera. Ah, egos... how fragile but yet so completely able to control your every thought, action, and word.

I am posting some back entries to cover my cruise vacation. So, be sure to back pedal a little in order to catch all of the updates!

Today, we arrived in San Diego, 24 of us that is. It was a good flight. I've never flown Southwest before. While I am not overly fond of rushing for a good seat (i.e. no assigned seating) I did find having both gate staff and on airline personnel with a sense of humor quite refreshing.

It was funnier still to watch a group of guys board the plane at our change over in Chicago that I affectionately refer to as long haired hippie freaks knowing full well this HAD to be a band. Yes, in fact it was. The band in question is called the "Usurpers". I will be checking into their website at a minimum just to see what the deal is there. The ones sitting near me or floating up near me to talk to other members seemed pretty nice. The one was so completely trash drunk before getting on the plane we then saw him in a wheelchair at the baggage claim. Keep in mind, this is Chicago to San Diego... a 4+ hour flight and he was still canned. Nice. That is mad f'n skills.

We got checked into the hotel and headed across the highway for dinner when Mike and I noticed a Japanese joint in the plaza. Needless to say, the call of sushi outweighed that to hang with the full gang... but there is still plenty of time for all of that. Besides, my roomie will be sick of me by the end of the week as is.

We grubbed and headed back towards theh rooms when we were lured to a little bar next to the hotel. I don't know what type of beer it was, supposedly a local brew, but quite tasty. 4 beers later we headed back to the room and here I am ... ready to fall over dead tired after chatting with an older Navy gentlemen for a good part of the evening. How proud my client would be to know I'm out hobknobbing w/ SPAWAR San Diego folk on my vacation! I am a very VERY tired girl today. Sleep will be quite comforting. Damn the time change anyhow. (It's 10:20pm local time.)

Ah to summarize this day... travel! We headed off the boat fairly early in the morning and to the Everglades for our final excursion. While we didn't get to see a gator while out in the wild on our airboat ride, it was still a good experience. We did get to see some of the captive gators instead.

I arrived back to Johnstown at 11:30 at night with a ton of things on my to do list, so I crawled into bed around 2am in order to get up bright and shiney at 6am to head out on the second leg of my vacation. Relaxed? Yes. Tired... unfortunately, yes. But, no problem mon, everything is irie.