It's In The Stars

For a while now, I’ve been thinking about what to do with my life. Well, not with my entire life, just more about career-wise. I know my contract with my current job is until at least May 31st. After that, I’m not really sure what’s going to happen. I was going crazy being unemployed for six months, and do not wish to go through that again. So I have been tossing around thoughts of going back to school, but not really sure what I would study.

There is a reason why I’m writing about this. I just thought it was so weird when I read my Yahoo! horoscope today:

Overview: You've been thinking about becoming more marketable at your chosen profession -- and thinking about going back to school to get that done. Who cares how old you are or what class you're interested in? Wouldn't it be fun?

Daily extended:
Still thinking about school or adding to your resume? Well, that's great -- but be sure whatever courses you sign up for will benefit not just your credentials, but also your heart, soul and mind. What about taking a class on a subject you've always been fascinated with? Even if it's not a supposedly 'marketable' subject -- at least, according to your current path -- it could turn out to be invaluable. Everyone needs to follow their bliss. Don't lose sight of yours.

Sympathy

Yesterday morning, I was still pretty depressed over the Aeros season being over. When I got to work, I found a card at my desk. I thought it was a belated birthday card or something, but it wasn’t. Two of my co-workers had given me a sympathy card for the “death” of the Aeros season. That was so sweet of them! They obviously know how much hockey means to me.

Well $*%#!!!

The Aeros lost tonight, putting an end to the season. It was a very, very sad night. After the game, my sister wanted to stay and say bye to all the players as they left. I was tired and just wanted to go home. But she convinced me to stay to at least meet Brent Burns. I had never met him before, and he’ll probably be back in Minnesota next year (if the NHL can ever get their shit together). I reluctantly agreed to stay, only to find out later that Burns had sneaked out the back so I never got to meet him. At least I’ll always have the memories of him and all the signs I made for him.

Mixed Emotions

Well, I think I can say that my birthday this year was one of the worse ones I’ve had. I guess what really has hurt the most is the fact that I didn’t hear from those friends that I considered myself closest to. I don’t know. It just seems like some of my certain friendships are started to drift apart. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t work at Schlumberger any more, or volunteer at Alvin EMS, or attend the IAAP monthly programs. Maybe there is truth to that “out of sight, out of mind” saying.

Of course, this past year has been one hell of a test for me. I know I shouldn’t regret anything, but there are many parts of it that I would love to forget. It’s been really rough.

I am very grateful to those who did send me birthday greetings, either by leaving comments on my web site or replying to a thread on InstigatorAlley.com. That really helped me make it through the work day. I appreciate everything my family did for me. I also am grateful to Audra for remembering my birthday and buying me a beer at the Aeros game on Sunday.

One birthday greeting that really surprised me was one that was posted on the AHL Boards. I’ve only been posting on there for a short time, and I don’t even post that much. In fact, at the time of this blog entry, I only have 19 postings. I don’t know any of these people, but all those that responded to the thread wishing me a happy birthday just completely amazed me. If you would like to view the message thread, click here.

I tried to keep my hopes up at work, hoping that when I got home, I would have some messages on my answering machine. When I did get home, there was nothing there. Since I didn’t sleep well the night before, I decided to lay down for a while. I ended up falling asleep around 6:30 and didn’t wake up until 9:30. Since I was awake, I decided to do some cleaning around the place. I went to take out the garbage, and found a birthday card on my front door. My dear friend Don had left it for me. I didn’t realized how depressed I was until I read his card. There was nothing sad about it; it was very cute. But when I read it, I just started crying. I know that sounds pathetic and I was surprised by my reaction. I guess it just made me grateful for the great friends I do have, and, at the same time, how hurt I was for those friends that it seems I have drifted apart from.

Was That Today?

Yep, my birthday is today. I’m really not too excited about it, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I never thought I would make it to 31. Hell, I never expected to make it to 30, so I guess I’m doing well.

My mom, sister, and step dad took me to dinner yesterday before the game. I met them at mom’s house. They have done so much for me over the past year, that I didn’t want them to get me any gifts. I was so surprised when I arrived at the house and did find a couple of gifts for me. That was very thoughtful of them.

Bummer

The Aeros played two games this past weekend, and lost both. They are now behind in the best-of-seven series 3 games to 1. The next game is in Houston on Tuesday. If the Aeros don’t win, our season is over. I’m not ready for it to be over yet!

I got to see Audra at Sunday’s game. She looks awesome. The recent pictures I have seen of her don’t do her justice. She looks just fabulous. She bought me a beer at the game as an early birthday gift, which was very sweet of her. Then again, that’s the kind of person she is.

Okay Aeros, you guys need to pull it together and kick some ass on Tuesday!!

Aeros Win!!

The Aeros pulled off a win in the second game in a best-of-five series. That definitely means we will have at least two games in Houston.

I am so pumped up!

Does My Head Smell Like Shit?

There is a big meeting coming up at work that we are getting ready for. Yesterday, I was asked to make one copy of the 750-page packet. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it’s not when you’re suffering from a major cranium-rectum impaction. The copy machine can only take 50 sheets at a time through the automatic document feeder. I start making my copies, only to realize after 37 pages later that I put them in the feeder the wrong way and was making blank copies. I recovered from that and started over. After 200 pages copied, I realized that I was making two-sided copies, which is the copier’s default setting. I know this and yet I forgot to change it before copying the package, which was to be single-sided. Now I’m starting to copy the package for a third time. A third time is a charm, right? Wrong! Instead of throwing out the double-sided copies I made, I had thrown away the originals. Since I remembered to set the copier on single-sided copies, it was only copying one side of the page. Hence, my copied package was now missing every other page. UUUGGGHH! I don’t know what was going on with me yesterday; I just hope I’m better today.

Jury Duty

I had to pleasure of going for jury duty on Monday. Once there, everyone was informed that they would be on a panel since they were short jurors. The panel I was put on didn’t have to meet until 1:00pm, so I went home for a few hours and returned then. One of the guys on my panel works for Schlumberger, and he remembered me from when he was working in Rosharon before transferring to one of the Houston offices. Then, I spotted Scott walking in the courthouse. He is a lawyer who is also an Aeros season ticket holder so I know him from the Aeros game. I know he usually works in north Houston, so I was surprise to see him in Angleton. He stopped by and chatted for a while. He said they got a case there and he was visiting the DA. After waiting around for about an hour, the judge finally called us in. He told us that the case ended up getting settled, but that another judge needed us on Wednesday morning, so we would have to return to the courthouse. Then, I got pleasant surprise. A clerk from the courthouse called me yesterday to let me know that the case for Wednesday had been settled, so I wouldn’t have to return. I think it was great that they called so I didn’t have to waste an extra trip to the courthouse.

What Did Wanvig Want?!

Tonight was the last regular season game for the Aeros. It’s so hard to believe since it seems like the season went by so fast. Unfortunately, the Aeros lost in a shoot-out, but they are still going to the playoffs.

A weird thing happened prior to the game. I had my signs for Burns and Wanvig displayed while the team warmed-up, which I always do. I had Burns’ sign sitting on the front row where two seats were empty, and I had Wanvig’s sign in the two empty seats next to me, on the third row. Wanvig started motioning to Burns’ sign. We weren’t sure what he was trying to tell us, but we thought maybe he was jealous since his sign was on the third row and Burns’ sign was on the first row. So, I moved Wanvig’s sign down to the first row in two other empty seats. He still wasn’t happy. So we switched his sign with Burns’ sign and figured that’s what he wanted. Well, it wasn’t. He finally comes up to the glass in front of Burn’ sign and is talking, but I can’t hear a word he’s saying or read his lips. Then he motioned with his fingers that Burns’ signed needed to be switched, which absolutely made no sense to me. At Friday’s game, Burns’ scored two goals during the third period. So, on his sign for today’s game, I put “Way to go, Burns! One period – Two goals!” I don’t know what Wanvig wanted me to switch on it. It wouldn’t make any sense for me to put “Two periods – one goal”, that would be incorrect. I still don’t understand what Wanvig was trying to tell me. If anyone has a clue, please fill me in!

Rock Star

The Aeros game on Friday night was breath-taking! A little bird had emailed me earlier in the week and warned me that it was going to be Schlumberger Night at the game, so I was prepared. I actually got to see some people that I really miss. It was so great to see and visit with them again.

Mike Smith, our Rock Star Goalie, was on fire during the game. So many people had doubted his ability, and he proved them all wrong. Not only did he get two assists during the game, he had to protect the goal without a stick when his broke, then protect it with a regular hockey stick that another player gave him until there was a break in the play and he was able to get another goalie stick.

The Aeros won the game 5-3. Another great night!

Rivas Rocks!

I was watching Channel 13 news at 6:00am this morning when I heard a shocker!

Elissa Rivas was filling in this morning for Minerva Perez, who I think is a complete moron, but that’s a soapbox issue for another time. Elissa’s intro for the top story was this:

“A driver scores a hat trick this morning when his car hit three buildings.”

I was amazed - a hockey reference made on a Houston news show! I was just so excited. I can honestly say that Elissa is becoming one of my favorite news anchors.

And for the non-hockey fanatics - a hat trick is when a player scores three goals in one game.

Sad

Is it just me, or does it seem like Eric Clapton has sold his soul to SBC?

If you have seen any of the numerous SBC commercials, you’ll probably understand.

Where did the weekend go?

So much stuff went on this past weekend that it seemed to just fly by.

On Friday night, I went to Eddie’s baseball game. He is my best friend’s oldest son. I was lucky because he was pitching that game, so I was able to enjoy that.

On Saturday, I rode up to San Antonio with my mom and sister. Fellow Aero fanatic, Stephanie, was kind enough to arrange a group of tickets for the Aeros game that was in San Antonio that night. The Aeros won so the trip was well worth it. I had taken a bunch of my infamous signs to the game. Since our group was sitting in the first row behind the Aeros bench, we lined up all my signs right against the glass. It was so cool.

When the Aeros played in San Antonio the weekend before, one of the players, Kyle Wanvig, hammed it up when the “Kiss Cam” camera landed on him and another Aero, David Bararuk. A thread was posted about it on the Instigator Alley message board. I posted that I should make a “Slip him the tongue” sign to take for the next game. So, I made the sign, and it ended up on San Antonio’s Kiss Cam! As the camera was panning the Aeros bench, Stephanie kept moving the sign so it would end up behind whichever players the camera decided to stop on. It was so awesome. Stephanie did a great job of keeping up with that camera.

I also found out from Stephanie that the mother of Brent Burns, one of the Aeros defensemen, was at one of the home games. She said that whenever I held up one of my signs for Burns, his mom got all excited and took pictures of it. How cool it that!

After the game, the group went to Dick’s Last Resort on the Riverwalk. Stephanie had never been before, so Keri decided that she needed to experience it.

On Sunday, it was back to Houston for another Aeros game. Like I always do, I had Brent Burns’ sign displayed while the Aeros warmed up. He always shoots a puck towards his sign at some point during the warm-up. Since he shots hit the glass, you can definitely hear it when he does it. It has scared some people a couple of times, but I think they are used to it now since they know he’s going to do it. I was talking to some people that sit across the aisle for where we sit and had my back towards the ice. I kept hearing Burns’ shots on the glass but didn’t pay any attention to it. After four or five shots, the people that sit in the row in front of us yelled at me to please turn around and watch Burns hit the glass so he would be happy. I really didn’t think he was waiting for me to turn around, but I did anyway. He did one more shot on the glass and then went about his warm-up. I guess he was waiting for me to see him, which surprised me.

Later in the game, I saw Erik Reitz watching the game. I got so excited because he didn’t have his arm brace on anymore. For a minute, I thought there was a slim chance that I would be able to see him play one more time this season. Then, he disappeared, and came back five minutes later with that damn brace back on. What a tease!

It’s Friday!

Thank goodness! This week seem to just drag by. At work, I did get to support an off-site meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a last minute thing since I didn’t find out about it until Monday afternoon. Many of the Space Station international partners were there, including some from the Canadian Space Agency. I showed them the Molson commercial that I got from some other members of the Canadian Space Agency had given me when I supported another meeting over a month ago. It surprised me that they had never seen the commercial. After I was done, a few of them showed up at my computer with their memory sticks and asked me to save the file for them so they could have it. I was more than happy to share such an awesome commercial.

Didn't He Know??

The other morning, I was craving a sausage and cheese kolache from Shipley’s. I don’t know why, but I was just jonesin’ to have one. I thought it would be quick: I go through the drive-thru, get my kolache, and head to work. Well, a work truck had gotten stuck under the awning of the drive-thru window. So I went inside since I had to have my kolache fix. As I’m waiting in line, I hear one of the clerks ask the other clerk about the truck driver “Why did he go through the drive-thru? Didn’t he know his truck was too big?” Duh! I think it was pretty obvious that the driver didn’t know his truck was too big. People amaze me.

It Still Hurts

I finally got a chance to see Christine, my best friend, the other day. It seems like forever since I had talked to her. She went to Daryn’s funeral and had saved some items from it for me. As she gave them to me and told me about the funeral, I just broke down and started crying again. It surprises me that the people that are suppose to be closest to me don’t seem to realize how hard Daryn’s death has been on me. It’s been rough, but it’s slowly getting easier. At the funeral, Daryn’s son, who is six years old, was sitting on the front row and kept saying “Show them you’re not sick Dad, just wake up”. I’m relieved I didn’t go to the funeral, because there is no way I could have handled that. I start getting tears in my eye just thinking about it.

Basic Driving Rules

#1 – If you’re stupid, don’t get on the road

#2 – If you’re not passing someone, get your freakin’ ass out of the left lane. If you are passing someone, then hurry up and pass them and move back over to the right lane.

#3 – If you know a lane is going to end or become a “turn only” lane, then don’t bother getting into it thinking you can just cut in front of traffic once the lane ends.

#4 – If you can’t talk on your cell phone and still drive like a normal person, then get off the cell phone or risk having it shoved up your ass.

#5 – If you have to turn, and there is a turning lane, then get in it!

Never Forgotten

As everyone knows, the Pope has passed away. He's the only Pope I have ever known. It's also nice to see that he had a sense of humor:

Something I Didn't Know

Alvin, the town I live in, was the Texas American Dream Town winner!

I checked the voted stats, and there were only three towns nominated from Texas, with a total of 1051 votes. Alvin got 1002 votes, followed by Fredericksburg, which got 36 votes, and then Jefferson with 13 votes. I'm happy to say that it seems that Alvin kicked the other towns asses!

I learn something new every day!

Happy April Fools Day!

I'm terrible at trying to pull off pranks, so I'm not even going to try it.

But, I will give you this link if you want to read more:

The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time